Willamette University and Pacific Northwest College of Art students won the Audience Choice Award for Best Oregon Film at the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology. Their animated short, "Next Gourd Neighbor," follows a trio of kittens plotting to steal their candy back from an evil neighbor.
PNCA student Mila Bacon directed the film, which was also nominated for Best Student Animated Micro-Short at the festival. PFCAT ran through Aug. 23 at OMSI and featured 170 films from 31 countries.
The project spanned two semesters, according to Willamette University. Assistant Professor of Animated Arts Marilyn Zornado led PNCA animation students through pre-production in fall 2025. During spring 2026, students divided into teams to animate scenes, add color, edit and complete post-production.
Music students from Assistant Professor of Music Florent Ghys' Music/Sound and Image course at Willamette traveled between the Salem and Portland campuses to compose an original score and sound design.
"I can't wait to direct and submit my next project to PFCAT again next year!" Bacon said in the university's Sept. 10 announcement.
The film has been accepted to screen at the Tacoma Film Festival, which runs Oct. 22–25 at The Grand Cinema in Tacoma, Washington.
A24 internship, hardware-security research
Cinema Studies major Rachel Oh, who graduates in 2027, spent the summer of 2026 in A24's Film Development department, where she read and evaluated scripts pitched to the production company. Oh said she applied on a whim and plans to use the experience to create her capstone film during the 2026–27 academic year.
Two computer science students, Julia Martin and Lucy Dobson, tackled hardware-security research through the Computing Research Association's Undergraduate Research to PhD program, known as UR2PhD. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Calvin Deutschbein encouraged them to apply. Their work focused on how accidental data leakage creates security vulnerabilities in hardware components, and they developed code to simplify and visualize large datasets. The goal: a free, open-source tool that helps developers evaluate data-flow security before production.
Iceland climate course launches
An interdisciplinary group of Willamette students and faculty traveled to Iceland for the inaugural session of ENVS 282: Icelandic Environments, a two-week immersive course. Students visited glaciers, volcanoes, fjords, fisheries and a CO2 direct-air-capture site.
Associate Professor of Environmental Science Melinda Butterworth, Associate Professor and Chair of Environmental Science Katja Meyer, and Writing Center Director Annette Hulbert led the trip. Maya Bryant, a transfer student finishing classes in fall 2026, called the course a "game changer" for access to study abroad.
What's ahead
The Tacoma Film Festival screens "Next Gourd Neighbor" Oct. 22–25 at The Grand Cinema, 606 Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, Washington. Faculty are preparing a 2027 Iceland trip; interested students can contact Willamette's Office of International Education.
