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Aquarium of the Pacific Announces Winners of High Tide Student Film Festival

Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg, founding presenting sponsors of the High Tide Student Film Festival, have made the decision to provide funding to the Aquarium of the Pacific to ensure that this festival continues and prospers over the next ten years

Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg in front of a screen with the text High Tide Student Film Festival

Pictured (left to right): Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg, founding presenting sponsors of the High Tide Student Film Festival Credit: Aquarium of the Pacific

May 21, 2024

The Aquarium of the Pacific is announcing the winners of its High Tide Student Film Festival. The festival, presented by Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg, encourages Southern California students in ninth to twelfth grade to explore science and conservation through creative visual storytelling. Individuals or small teams of up to four participants submitted videos up to three minutes long on one of three topics: My Favorite Ocean Species, Ocean Heroes and Superheroes, and Coastal and Port Cities. Cash prizes were awarded to winners: $2,000 for the Gold Award, $1,500 for the Silver Award, $1,000 for the Bronze Award, and $500 in different categories for Honorable Mention. A special announcement was made during the event–Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg, founding presenting sponsors of the High Tide Student Film Festival, have made the decision to provide funding to the Aquarium of the Pacific to ensure that this festival continues and prospers over the next ten years.

“Art brings science to life and inspires us,” Aquarium President and CEO Dr. Peter Kareiva said. “This is the vision that Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg had when they first imagined this amazing high school student film festival. The students not only learn a lot of science, they also discover their own power and the possibility of changing the world.”

The invitation-only event took place on May 19 at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, and was live streamed and recorded for the public on the Aquarium’s YouTube channel. Below are the winners by category, including the overall winners.

High Tide Student Film Festival 2024 Contest Winners

one person standing speaking into a microphone with four other people standing side by side

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Gold Overall Award: School of Fish

By the following students from Granada Hills Charter High School

  • Stella Karsian, 11th grade
  • Kiana Lara, 11th grade
  • Kelly Chen, 11th grade
  • Kaytlin Hendrix, 11th grade
a person holding a microphone for a person wearing a patterned collared shirt

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Silver Overall Award: Shoreline Wonders

By the following student from Carlsbad Seas Academy/ Sage Creek High School

  • Preston Dau, 11th grade
four people standing side by side smiling

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Bronze Overall Award: Mermaids of the Sea

By the following students from Granada Hills Charter High School

  • Gabriella Schorn, 12th grade
  • Danielle Lee, 11th grade
  • Vidula Nedunuri, 11th grade
Two people smiling while a third speaks into a microphone

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Best in Category of the Ocean Heroes and Superheroes Category: Dr. Robert Ballard’s Ancient Shipwreck

By the following student from Los Alamitos High School

  • Destry Smith, 10th grade
three people standing near a podium with the Aquarium logo

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Staff Pick for the Ocean Heroes and Superheroes Category: California to Antarctica

By the following student from Mira Costa High School

  • Oliver “Ollie” Schneider, 11th grade
three people standing where the people on the outside are listening to the middle person speak into a microphone

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Honorable Mention for the Ocean Heroes and Superheroes Category: Footprints in the Sand

By the following students from Gretchen Whitney High School

  • Susan Ung, 11th grade
  • Miguel Palmerin, 11th grade
one person holding a microphone for a person wearing a dress

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Best in Category for the Coastal and Port Cities Category: The City and The Sunset

By the following student from Long Beach Polytechnic High School

  • Leilany Castro, 12th grade
a person with their hands in their pockets standing next to two other people who are wearing dresses

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Staff Pick for the Coastal and Port Cities Category: From Farm to Coast

By the following students from El Dorado High School

  • Tahlia Pompel, 12th grade
  • Karina Ramirez, 12th grade
three people standing where one of the people in a blue suit holds a microphone for someone in a dress

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Honorable Mention for the Coastal and Port Cities Category: Seal Beach: Protecting SoCal’s Tiny Crown Jewel

By the following students from Los Alamitos High School

  • Kyan Whiten, 11th grade
  • Emily Fitzgerald, 12th grade
one person holding a microphone for person wearing a suit and tie

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Staff Pick for the My Favorite Ocean Species Category: Seabirds

By the following student from Long Beach Polytechnic High School

  • Braden Mosteig, 9th grade
one person holding a microphone standing next to a person holding two dolls

Credit: CaughtintheMoment.com

Honorable Mention in the My Favorite Ocean Species Category: Octopus, Octopi and the Ocean They Occupy

By the following student from River Springs Charter High School

  • Audrey Ramirez, 9th grade

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