A chance encounter with Freddy Krueger inspired Justin Garza’s student short film. While at a bar in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the graduate student ran into Robert Englund, the actor who played Freddy Krueger in the 1984 “A Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise. Read more...

Photo: MFA student Raquel Hagman worked as a cinematographer on MFA student Justin Garza’s short film, “My Nightmare.” She said she utilized a number of different techniques, ranging from a tripod to handheld camera movements, in order to reveal the main character’s varying emotional states. The film was shot throughout West Hollywood and UCLA, with the team traveling from a house in Hollywood Hills to an office building on Rodeo Drive. (Naveed Pour/Daily Bruin)

Nothing is more terrifying than a full bladder and a long line to pee. Directed by graduate student in fine arts Paloma López, the six-minute film “Pee” highlights the uncomfortable social situation through Maya, a shy girl who needs to pee during a warehouse rave event. Read more...

Photo: Changhui Shi (left), graduate student in fine arts Paloma López (center) and fourth-year film student Catho D’Souza (right) all worked on the six-minute short film “Pee,” which follows a shy girl at a warehouse rave who goes to desperate measures to find a place to use the bathroom. D’Souza said the film presents the nuances of human desperation. (Sakshi Joglekar/Daily Bruin)