The Brooklyn-based organization UFO has officially unveiled the names of the filmmakers selected for the fourth cycle of its highly competitive Short Film Lab, an intensive 18-month initiative designed to bridge the gap between early-career experimentation and professional cinematic production. In a move that highlights the growing demand for structured developmental support in the independent film sector, UFO reported a record-breaking 287 applications for the latest intake, representing a significant surge in interest from the global filmmaking community. From this pool, three new fellows have been chosen to join the program’s existing cohort, each receiving a comprehensive support package that includes $20,000 in direct funding—split equally across two original short film projects—alongside access to high-end technical resources and institutional mentorship.
The selection of Hana Elias, Katherine Clary, and Edward Nguyen as the Cycle IV fellows underscores the lab’s commitment to diverse storytelling formats, with the new cohort split between non-fiction and scripted narratives. This 18-month commitment is a rarity in the film laboratory landscape, which often favors short-term intensives or weekend workshops. By extending the timeline to nearly two years, UFO provides a sustained environment where filmmakers can not only produce work but also iterate on their creative processes under the guidance of industry veterans.
A Rigorous Selection Process and a Record Applicant Pool
The sheer volume of applications for Cycle IV—nearly 300 for just three available slots—reflects a competitive landscape where funding for short-form cinema remains scarce despite its necessity as a career-launching medium. The 1% acceptance rate places the UFO Short Film Lab among the most selective programs in the United States, comparable to prestigious fellowships offered by organizations such as Sundance or SFFILM.
The three new fellows will join three continuing participants from the previous spring intake: Daisy Friedman, Carin Leong, and Emilio SubÃa. This overlapping structure ensures a sense of continuity and peer-to-peer mentorship, allowing the incoming filmmakers to learn from those currently in the midst of their production cycles. The lab’s curriculum is anchored by seminar-style workshop sessions hosted at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), a partnership that integrates the fellows into one of New York City’s most storied cultural institutions.
Detailed Profiles of the Cycle IV Fellows
The Cycle IV fellows represent a broad spectrum of geographical backgrounds and thematic concerns, ranging from the arid landscapes of the American Southwest to the urban and rural textures of Palestine and Vietnam.
Katherine Clary: Exploring Grief and State Power
Katherine Clary, an Arizona-born filmmaker now based in New York, brings a practice rooted in philosophical inquiry. Her work frequently examines how personal loss reshapes an individual’s perception of history and institutional structures. Clary’s previous credits include A Desert Is An Ocean, which premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival in 2023, and her work has been showcased at venues ranging from Telluride to the Camden International Film Festival.
For her UFO project, Clary returns to the Arizona desert to document the intersection of two disparate locations: a potter’s field for the unclaimed dead and a high-tech airfield used for U.S. Air Force fighter pilot training. The project aims to serve as a non-fiction meditation on how the landscape absorbs both the finality of human grief and the machinery of state power.
Hana Elias: Archiving Resilience Through the Lens
Hana Elias is a journalist and filmmaker whose work spans the distance between Palestine and New York. Her documentary practice focuses on the concept of "inherited memory" and the role of storytelling as a form of cultural resilience. Elias has a decorated history in the festival circuit; her short documentary Where the Wind Blows received the 2022 IF/Then x The Redford Center Nature Access Pitch and a jury prize at the Arab Film Festival.
Her upcoming project for the Lab utilizes a vintage large-format camera to create a mobile studio across various Palestinian cities. By documenting photographer Adam Rouhana’s process, Elias explores the politics of the image and the ways in which participants engage with their own likeness. The film is positioned as a collective portrait of Palestinian life, captured through moments of spontaneous creativity and imagination.
Edward Nguyen: Queer Identity and Surrealism
Edward Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American writer-director working between New York and Austin, represents the scripted component of the Cycle IV intake. A graduate of Yale University, Nguyen’s work is noted for its exploration of the "diasporic experience" through the lenses of queerness, kink, and folklore. His cinematic style draws heavily from Southeast Asian slow cinema, challenging traditional Western narrative structures.
Nguyen’s project is a surreal queer drama set in the Vietnamese jungle. The narrative follows a construction worker seeking anonymous pleasure, only to encounter a phantasmagoric reflection of himself. This project follows the success of his first short film, Mồ Hôi (Sweat), which premiered at BFI Flare in March 2026.
Institutional Support and Technical Partnerships
A key differentiator for the UFO Short Film Lab is its strategic partnership with ZEISS, one of the world’s leading optical systems manufacturers. Fellows are granted complimentary rentals of ZEISS’s latest cinema lenses, providing them with the technical capability to achieve a "big screen" aesthetic that is often financially out of reach for early-career directors.
Furthermore, the mentorship component of the program involves one-on-one sessions with the UFO internal team and a rotating roster of invited industry guests. These mentors provide feedback on everything from script development and casting to post-production and festival strategy. The location of the workshops at BAM further embeds the filmmakers into a network of exhibitors and programmers, providing a direct pipeline to potential audiences.
A Proven Track Record of Success
The announcement of the new fellows comes at a time when the UFO Lab is seeing significant returns on its previous investments. Since its inception in 2023, films developed within the lab have secured placements at top-tier international film festivals, including Sundance, SXSW, True/False, and Palm Springs ShortFest.
The most notable recent success is that of UFO Fellow Arielle Knight. Her film, The Boys and the Bees, was awarded the Short Jury Award for Non-Fiction at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. This victory is more than just a prestigious accolade; it serves as a qualifying win for the 2027 Academy Awards. Such outcomes validate the lab’s model, proving that concentrated financial and technical support can elevate short films into the highest echelons of industry recognition.
Chronology of the UFO Lab Development
The evolution of the UFO Short Film Lab reflects a broader trend toward the professionalization of the short film format.
- 2023: Launch of the UFO Short Film Lab with an inaugural cohort focused on providing a sustainable alternative to the "pay-to-play" model of film education.
- 2024–2025: Expansion of partnerships, most notably with ZEISS and BAM, and the establishment of the 18-month fellowship duration.
- Spring 2025: Selection of Fellows Daisy Friedman, Carin Leong, and Emilio SubÃa.
- March 2026: Announcement of the record-breaking application pool and the induction of Elias, Clary, and Nguyen for Cycle IV.
- April 2026: Official commencement of Cycle IV workshops and production phases.
Industry Implications and Analysis
The success of the UFO Short Film Lab highlights a shift in how the film industry views short-form content. Historically, short films were viewed primarily as "calling cards"—brief demonstrations of talent intended to secure funding for a feature film. However, in the contemporary landscape of streaming and specialized digital platforms, short films are increasingly being recognized as a distinct and viable art form.
The $20,000 grant provided by UFO is particularly significant. In the world of independent film, where many directors are forced to self-fund or rely on crowdfunding, a $10,000-per-project budget allows for professional-grade production standards, including fair pay for cast and crew, legal clearances, and high-quality sound design. By removing the immediate financial burden, the lab allows filmmakers to focus on the "philosophical inquiry" and "cinematic experimentation" mentioned in the fellows’ bios.
Furthermore, the inclusion of non-fiction projects alongside scripted dramas reflects a blurring of traditional genre boundaries. As seen in the work of Katherine Clary and Hana Elias, modern documentary filmmaking often employs the visual language of narrative cinema, a trend that the UFO Lab appears to actively encourage.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Cycle IV
As Elias, Clary, and Nguyen begin their 18-month journey next month, the industry will be watching to see if they can replicate the success of their predecessors. With the backing of UFO’s financial resources, ZEISS’s optics, and the institutional prestige of BAM, these six filmmakers (including the continuing fellows) are positioned at the forefront of the next generation of independent cinema.
The lab’s focus on themes of identity, memory, and state power suggests that the upcoming films will not only be technical showcases but also poignant contributions to the global cultural dialogue. As the 2027 awards season approaches, the projects currently being conceived in the Brooklyn Academy of Music may well be the next to grace the stages of Sundance and the Academy Awards.
