Cal State Fullerton cinema and television arts student Luis Barragan won first place in the nationwide 2026 American Cinema Editors student competition and received the Anne V. Coates Award for Student Editing. The award recognizes students for their ability to professionally edit a television scene using raw footage and a shot list.
Winning the award means the world, Barragan said. He credits CSUF’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts, where he learned technical skills to make his work stand out against competitors across the country.
“That approval and recognition goes a long way, and it affirms that this is where I want to go in my career,” Barragan said of the award.
In Gordon Winiemko’s Editing Film and TV course, Barragan learned how to improve pacing and structure to better tell a story. He used the same approach in his competition piece.
Winiemko, lecturer in cinema and television arts, said Barragan showed a strong grasp of the cinematic language by the end of the course. An independent filmmaker and multimedia artist, Winiemko previously taught alum Chase Johnson ’20 (B.A. cinema and television arts), who was the first Titan to win the Anne V. Coates Award in 2020.
“With two of our students winning this prestigious award, it shows our students are working at a very high level,” Winiemko said.
Barragan said learning that a previous Cal State Fullerton student won the competition inspired him to apply.
“It’s so important to see alumni in these spaces,” Barragan said. “It shows students that these goals are achievable, and there are Titans we can reach out to for support.”