USC Department of Fine Arts Major in Cinema student Jon Owen Lepiten is one of the ten finalists of the 8th Sine Kabataan Short Film Lab and Festival (Sine Kabataan 2025) organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). 

According to the FDCP, the ten finalists will each receive a production grant of Php200,000 to help them complete their short films, which will premiere during the Philippine Film Industry Month in September. 

Lepiten’s Sunog sa Sugbo, one of 200 entries nationwide,  is “a film that dives deep into what displacement looks like through the eyes of the youth.” It features how tragedies like fires “leave an indelible mark—shaping lives in ways that often go unseen.” 

Lepiten is joined by producer Febe Bongato, a 4th year Cinema major, as they begin pre-production and casting. Supported by the Fine Arts Department’s Cinema Program, production is scheduled to begin in July.