Written by Ramona Nina
The Lee Strasberg Film Festival (LSFF) held its 9th annual celebration this November, making it the second year in a row it has been hosted at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (LSTFI) campus in Los Angeles. Throughout the weekend of the festival, The Institute’s historical artistic space was transformed from an acting school into an expansive hub of creatives from all areas of the industry: inspiring indie artists, filmmakers, actors, managers, students, professionals, and more.
From vivid characters to bold and explorative narratives, many of the films screened at LSFF had exceptional performances at the center of them, adding to discussions in the lobby on Lee Strasberg’s Method as a technique and way of capturing and moving audiences.
Global Expansion
Ever since the Lee Strasberg Film Festival made its way to the LA Campus, it has had a new mission to expand the festival from just Lee Strasberg Institute students and alumni to international filmmakers from all over the world. The festival still hosts Strasberg Film Night, the night before the festival, to celebrate LSTFI filmmakers exclusively, but the expansion to an international audience for the other days of the festival now allows our LSTFI community to broaden their network of artist contacts. “I always say, we’re only as good of a festival as the films that we get, so we are very, very lucky,” says Festival Manager and alumni Maarten Cornelis, speaking to the benefits of including films from all over the globe. “I love Strasberg. Once a Strasberg student, always a Strasberg student. I love what they taught me here and I love what I did with it later in life.”
Belgian writer and director of the short film Stay, Nick Ceulemans, flew to Los Angeles from his home in Belgium to see his short film screened at The Lee Strasberg Film Festival. “Having your film be screened in Hollywood is pretty special. There was no doubt that I would come.” Accepting the award for his lead actor, Vincent Van Sande, who won Best Actor for his performance in Stay, was, in Nick’s words, “very very special.”
Industry Panels, Q&As, Segments, and More…
To kick off the weekend Lee Strasberg Film Festival Director, David Lee Strasberg, sat down with writer, showrunner, producer and LSTFI Alumnus André Nemec, in a Q&A entitled “The Future of Acting in AI Hollywood.” David and André discussed the impacts we can foresee on the entertainment industry as AI makes advances and begins to permeate more and more aspects of our work. Nemec says, “At the end of the day, you can’t substitute the artist. I think we’ll dabble in AI , explore it as a tool, but we will always go back to the human experience.”
When asked how young actors and students here at Lee Strasberg and in Hollywood as a whole should approach this ever-changing industry as AI makes it harder and harder to get a foot in the door, Nemec responded saying, “Tilly Norwood can’t do what you do. Tilly is a program that lies in front of keys on a keyboard. The realness of an actor is the human that you already have in you. Fight for that.” In a message of encouragement, Nemec assured the crowd of aspiring artists that “…you’ll have to fight for it, to be seen as an actor right now. But do it, go out and make your own content and show it to anyone and everyone.”
Later on in the weekend, LSTFI Head of Instruction, Carlos Colunga, moderated a StrasbergTalk with Manager Margit Polak. Having studied Method Acting with Lee Strasberg in the 1970s and then gone on to be an instructor at LSTFI Los Angeles, Margit had many stories and words of advice to share. “You can’t know what the masterplan is,” says Polak. “You just have to go pursue what you truly believe you’re put on this earth for and see what happens.” Polak, manager of actress and LSTFI alumna Alana Ubach, shares her experience working and managing Method actors. “I personally love the Method actors,” she says, “I speak their language.”
On the last day of the Festival Run, Sheldon Larry, LSTFI Head of Film, moderated the Acting Tips for the Director panel, featuring Alani iLongwe, Hyejin “Grace” Park, and Matt Enlow. “Creating a safe space for your actors should be your primary function as the director,” says Sheldon, when advising young directors. As a piece of advice for actors being directed on set, LSTFI instructor, actor and director, Alani iLongwe, suggests actors “…always look for what is ‘actable’ in a given note and once the actor feels they understand the adjustment, briefly perform the adjustment for the director to ensure the actor’s interpretation of the note is in line with the director’s vision.”
Conversations with Filmmakers, Winners, and Alumni
By the end of the weekend, dozens of short films and features from all over the world had been screened at the Lee Strasberg Film Festival. The Award Ceremony, hosted by alumna, Natalie Gimon Valencia, left everyone abuzz, marking the end of the LSFF 2025.
In an interview with Lisette Lastra, winner of Best Alumni Actress for her role in NMBR 1 FN, she shared her experience winning the awards as an LSTFI Alumni herself. “I graduated here in 2016, so it’s a full circle moment for me,” says Lastra. “The teachers that taught me everything I know are here at the festival tonight, I am very grateful to be here.” When asked about how she uses her method training in her career after Strasberg, she said, “It’s pretty much what I use for everything. I think everyone should take a class here.”
In an interview with Rudy Weimer, LSTFI alumni and writer/director of NMBR 1 FN, which was awarded Best Alumni Short Film, he shares the experience he had at the festival, saying, “It speaks to the community here, meeting new people who care about indie film and acting in general.” Having your film be screened in a festival that honors and curates a comfortable space for filmmakers is something every artist hopes for their art. The audiences were so involved and focused, it was such good energy.”
Weimer recalls his time studying at Strasberg 10 years ago, saying, “I like everyone who runs Strasberg, they really care about the arts, and I think that’s really important…It’s so warm and welcoming here. It’s both vulnerable and accepting. I have nothing but fond memories at this school.”
Isabella Uzcátegui, a member of the LSTFI faculty and an alumna herself discusses her festival win for Best Alumni Director for her short film Flashlight, saying, “This is my second time here at the festival. I have had a great experience, the entire programming has been so great, the filmmakers are really, really awesome and it’s so international, which surprised me.” When asked about her studies in Method Acting, she said, “I always knew that the foundation of working with actors in The Method training was going to serve my directing…Strasberg really started my creative career, so it’s amazing to have Flashlight be awarded here tonight.”
Stay Tuned For Next Year
The 2025 Lee Strasberg Film Festival concluded in community, collaboration, and gratitude, blending current students, former students, filmmakers, writers, actors and directors. Together, we had a weekend of celebration for art, passion, creativity, and the industry we all strive to make our way in.
Submissions are already open for 2026! The time to make your own work is NOW. Go out there and create the story you want to see on screen, and we look forward to seeing our independent filmmaking community again next year at The 10th Annual Lee Strasberg Film Festival in Los Angeles.
This article was researched and written by Ramona Nina, a student reporter and current Associate Degree student (class of 2026) at LSTFI’s LA Campus. She is thankful for all the staff, faculty, and students at The Institute for their continuous support.
