The 19th season of KCET’s Fine Cut Festival of Films premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 9 pm PST on KCET in Los Angeles.

Of of the 16 finalists chosen, four films are by CalArtians from the School of Film/Video: “Candy Crushed” by Chloe Hsu (BFA 21), “Dumpling” by Siti Lu (BFA 20), “Raccoon and the Light” by Hanna Kim (BFA 19) and “Where I Was Born” by Jungmin Cha (BFA 20).

More than 300 student short films were submitted for consideration in the categories of Documentary, Animation and Narrative films.

“Candy Crushed” is Hsu’s first-year film at CalArts about a piece of candy patiently waiting its turn to be chosen from a vending machine.

“Dumpling” by Siti Lu is also a first-year CalArts film, which tells the story of a dumpling chef who helps take care of a lost child.

Kim’s film “Raccoon and the Light” is about a raccoon who, much to his delight, finds a flashlight in the woods. It has been shown in a number of festivals such as the San Diego Underground Film Festival, Routes to Roots Film Festival and the Paris International Animation Festival. It also recently won a student Oscar at the 45th Student Academy Awards.

“Where I Was Born” by Cha is a series of short, humorous vignettes about contemporary social issues in South Korean culture.

Winners in each of the categories will be announced on Wed., Sept. 19, at an IndieWire-sponsored private awards ceremony and screening event held at the Director’s Guild of America.

Prizes include acceptance into the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, and a cash prize up to $500 to use toward travel and accommodations.

All 16 films will be included in a series of half-hour broadcast episodes on KCET.

Additionally, one of the finalists will be awarded The Jack Larson Student Filmmaker Award for storytelling. The prize is a tribute to the festival’s founder Jack Larson and his commitment to fostering new generations of filmmakers in Southern California.

All 16 finalists are also eligible for the Viewers Choice Competition, which is based on an online voting poll open during and up to one week after the broadcast date. The winning filmmaker will be notified in November and receive a production package prize worth over $15,000.

Finalists and winners in each category were determined by an industry panel that included Pixar’s Animation Studios director Domee Shi, film/TV producer Effie T. Brown, Indiewire film reporter Jenna Marotta, actress and writer Marianne Jean-Baptiste, story artist Michael Herrera, Deadline.com Chief Film Critic Pete Hammond, producer and director Phillip Rodriguez, Executive Director of the International Documentary Association Simon Kilmurry, Head of Logo Documentary Films Taj Paxton and animator, writer and producer Van Partible.

For the full season lineup, visit the Fine Cut Festival of Films website.

— By Elizabeth Liang