Essay Contest Winners 2025 Essay Contest Winners First Place: “Who is the Artist: A Scrutinization of Artificial Intelligence in Film" by Jillian CatanzaroFirst Place: “Hyperdiegesis Wastelands & Reactions: Fan Labor’s Reputation in The Industry, Within the Fandom and the Battle Against Copyright" by Ben Mansfield Read the Winning Essays Bitter Rice, neither Neorealism nor Noir The 2022 Film Essay Prize winner by Brian Berry brought to life in a short film by PSU alum Jesselynn Amerling. Persepolis: Rewriting the Transnational Woman's Body in "Herstory" An essay by PSU film student Eden Radfarr, brought to life in a short film by PSU Film alum David Jordan, motion design by Josh Luna. An Aesthetic of Failure: Romanian Cinema in the Wake of the Revolution An essay by PSU film student Anna Weltner, brought to life in a short film by PSU Film alum David Jordan, motion design by Josh Luna. Polanski's Apartment Trilogy: Perceptual Crisis, Identity, and the Rented Flat An essay by PSU film student Jubel Brosseau, brought to life in a short film by PSU Film alum David Jordan, motion design by Josh Luna.