FAU Student Storytelling Showcase at MAD Arts
MAPPING THE SENSES (2025)
Medium: Interactive Installation with visual poems
FAU Students rotoscoped silhouettes by Myth Vermont, Halie Ojukwu, Elenilson Salazar and remixed by Prof. Alejandra Abad
Soundscape collaboration with instructor Steve Jones
On November 20th, 2025 more than 100 people gathered to experience the FAU Student Storytelling Showcase at MAD Arts in Dania Beach, Florida. Over the Fall semester Assistant Professor Alejandra Abad encouraged her students to tour MAD Arts in her various classes to prompt interdisciplinary conversations, and she brought guest speakers to the Fort Lauderdale campus from MAD Arts like intermedia artist and FAU alum Richard Vergez. Prof. Abad also took her students to tour MAD Arts where the students experienced innovative ways of merging art and technology.
The showcase featured animated shorts and installations from students who applied to the Film Free Way FAU Digital Storytelling Showcase. The open call was advertised in the Amplifier student newsletter and was shared in the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies. The showcase included works from FAU alumni and current students who took DIG 4930 (Digital Storytelling and Animation), DIG 4122 (Visual Design for Film, Animation and Games), and DIG 4046 (History and Theory of Animation and Computer Arts). Prof. Abad curated the 16 short films and 9 interactive installations, including alternative formats like RPG video games and audiovisual explorations.
The films included: “Pumpkin Patch” (Myth Vermont), “The Wizard and The Sorcerer: First Encounter” (Rosie Rodriguez, Chloe Mathieu, Michael Castillo), “Reality?” (Alina Ambar), “Haunted Dungeon” (Avery Evans), “Mighty Spoonbills” (Sada Balboa), “Thank you mom!” (Kevin Jo), “Paws that Heal” (Priscilla Nieto), “Unfated Eternity” (Natalia Marie Oviedo), “Hide-and-Seek” (Elenilson Salazar), “The Great Collide” (Trevor Dix), “Rat Pack” (Trey G.), “Ossuary” (Joshua Perrin), “Comfortably Uncomfortable” (Siarra Ruiz), “Keel the light” (Roodensky Floristal), “The Golden Flower” (Michael Noyes), “In the name of Progress” (Kalecia Grier), “Before Time Runs Out” (Isabella Almeida), and “Handle with Care” (Bryce Malcolm). Installations included “Requiem for a Waterfall” (Parinaz Moghadampour), “Feeling Control” (Brown Abraham), “Vessel” (Astrid Moldonado), “Wolf and the Flower” (Tanya Arora), “Suite 95” (Sofia Espinosa), “NikkiNack” (Logan Andrews), and “Witness” (Leann Bernard), “Outside” (Prof. Abad + FAU Students: Sophia Manrique, Halie Ojukwu, Rosie Rodriguez, Olivia Behar, Felipe Grande, Cat Fullton, Olivia Allen, Julian Alfonso, Naliah Nettles, Isaiah Williams, Alex Del Orbe, Savanna River, Deveyn B, Sabrina Anelus, Gaby Ryah Shata, Lucas Garcia, Hunter Stewart, Gabreil Ramos Ferris, Chi Nguyen, Ross Anzue, Jordan Roman, Gabriel, Alexander Negersmith, Maya Campbell, TJ Monereau, and Aziza Tazhbayeva), and “Mapping the Senses” (rotoscoped silhouettes by Myth Vermont, Halie Ojukwu, Elenilson Salazar; remixed by Prof. Alejandra Abad; soundscape by Steve Jones).
After the screening, students and other visitors had the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session with Sandy Lighterman and an Expanded Cinema collaboration with Richard Vergez + Alejandra Abad during the transition into the awards portion of the evening. Guest juror Eddy Moon presented the evening’s awards for Best Digital Storytelling (Sada Balboa), Best 2D Animated Short (Avery Evans), Best 3D Animated Short (Joshua Perrin), and Audience Choice (Trey G).
ENTRY CALL: https://filmfreeway.com/FAUDigitalStorytelling
