Students from the UNLV School of Cinematic Arts (UNLV Film) earned six honors at the 2026 Pacific Southwest Student Emmy Awards, recognizing outstanding achievement in directing, fiction, animation, public service, and photography.
The award-winning projects highlight the creativity and professional-level storytelling emerging from UNLV’s film program across multiple disciplines and genres.
The 2026 Pacific Southwest Student Emmy Award winners include:
- Ani Rogy in Directing for Flicker
- Kristian Martinez in Fiction for Homing Pigeon
- Kristian Martinez in Animation for Homing Pigeon
- Krishna Menon in Public Service Announcement for Less Screen More Green
- Ethan Langit in Animation for An Architect’s Purpose
- Enrique Aguilera in Photography for Crosshairs
In addition, current UNLV Film student Hisonni Johnson received four Pacific Southwest Student Emmy Awards for projects he created while attending College of Southern Nevada prior to transferring to UNLV. His wins include Buried: Palestine & the Need for Media Literacy in Non-Fiction - Short Form or Long Form, and Legend Has It: The Gatson in Writer, Director, and Non-Fiction - Short Form or Long Form. These wins join his accolades in his recent win in the 2026 Webby Awards.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Pacific Southwest Chapter Student Production Awards celebrate excellence in student-produced media and storytelling across the region. The 2026 Pacific Southwest Emmy® Student Awards Ceremony took place on Saturday, May 2, at the West Charleston Library in Las Vegas, NV. More information about the nominees and winners can be found at NATAS Pacific Southwest Student Awards website: https://nataspsw.org/
All of these students are no strangers to winning awards in the cinematic space, with several students receiving honors at the 2026 UNLV Film Spring Flicks film festival. Kristian Martinez received the UNLV Film 2026 Spring Flicks awards for Best Film - Second Place, Best Screenplay - Runner Up, Audience Favorite - Night 2 - Second Place in and tying for Best Directing - Runner Up for The Little Giraffe. Krishna Menon, director of Student Tours, won the award for The Shark Bite (Best Blockbuster Short).
The continued success of students from UNLV Film shines in their award wins across the globe at film festivals and competitions, contributions to the professional cinematic space in making their mark with their unique creative voices, and in following the footsteps of the legends in entertainment that they are learning from every day.