The Minority Scholars Program (MSP) took over the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center for their second annual Youth Anti-Racist Film Festival on Feb. 22, a night packed with student voices, big-screen moments and a whole lot of truth-sharing. Among the 14 student films shown was “#StudentsInYourFields,” a bold callout from junior and Black Student Union community outreach chair Urielle Ngako. The short film zeroed in on administration’s “compliant silence and lack of action” over the past 10 months, taking home the Community Impact Award.
Ngako wasn’t just another student submitting a film – this was personal. The festival wasn’t just an opportunity to showcase creativity; it was a chance to amplify a story that, in her eyes, was being ignored. “I heard about the festival because I constantly go to the MSP task force meetings, which is a monthly meeting with all Minority Scholar Programs around the county, and there they mentioned a film festival that they held last year, and I figured since I liked to make film and I also wanted to share the story of what’s happening around our school, I decided that participating would be a fun and impactful idea,” Ngako said.
Movies usually start with a title and build the film around it, and, for Ngako, this was no exception. She was firm about the significance of the hashtag in her title, making it clear that it wasn’t just for show. “The hashtag is super important. [How] I came about this title, as I’m sure many know the ‘#WomenInMensFields’ trend that highlighted women doing tasks that were typically ‘mens jobs.’ The entire short film highlights students doing jobs that weren’t tasks for us. I thought it would catch the attention of different youth groups. The hashtag also isn’t something you usually see in a title, so to me it was cute and exciting,” Ngako said.
The short film was always meant to be a collaborative effort. At its core, ‘#StudentsInYourFields’ documented a painful but undeniable reality: months of anti-Black hate incidents, stretching from May to December of last year, met with radio silence from administration. The film wasn’t just about what happened – it was about the students who refused to let it slide.
Ngako zeroed in on three student voices for the film: senior Black Student Union co-presidents Leila Khademian and Teemo Taiwo, along with junior Black Student Union and SGA treasurer Charlie Rollins. “Urielle asked me to be a participant in the film and I gladly said yes. Urielle’s actions proved that this was an issue she really cared about and that she was driven to bring this issue to light. She has always been a very determined and passionate person, so that didn’t surprise me. She prepared extensively for the interview she conducted on me and I can tell that she put so much effort into her film because it turned out absolutely phenomenal,” Khademian said.
For Ngako, interviewing Rollins was a no-brainer, “I chose Charlie because when we were switching the winter pep rally into a walkout, he was the bridge between the Black Student Union and SGA, it was mainly him advocating for us. It’s all about student leaders and he had two points of views which were perfect,” Ngako said.
Ngako’s impact isn’t just tied to this film –– it’s something bigger, something that’s already stretching past the walls of this school. And she’s not stopping here. “Urielle’s work ethic inspires us all as a team and as a school, it’s bigger than all of us, it’s going on to a county level. Her film was really impactful and I don’t think she realizes how much of a contribution it is to our community’s growth,” Rollins said.
You can watch the full short film on Ngakos Instagram, @urielle.ng
