“Birdsong” Wins the Philip Seymour Hoffman Award at Rochester Teen Film Festival

Babel Film Workshop is proud to share that Birdsong, our Short Film Lab: Fall 2025 production, has won the Philip Seymour Hoffman Award—the top prize at the Rochester Teen Film Festival.

Created by a team of secondary student filmmakers in Hong Kong, Birdsong was developed through Babel Film Workshop’s Short Film Lab, our advanced production program where teen filmmakers take on the full creative and practical process of making a short film: story development, pre-production, casting, budgeting, filming, post-production and festival submission.

The film follows a phone-obsessed teenage girl who loses her grandmother at a park, and sets out to find her. For our students, this award is proves that the work they create in Hong Kong can reach an audience far beyond our city.

Rochester Teen Film Festival

The Rochester Teen Film Festival is a youth film festival based in Rochester, New York, celebrating short films made by teen filmmakers. The festival gives young creators a public platform to screen their work, connect with audiences and be recognised for excellence in storytelling and filmmaking.

The festival’s top honour, the Philip Seymour Hoffman Award, is named after the late Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was born in the Rochester area. The award recognises an outstanding teen-made film at the festival.

Short Film Lab

Short Film Lab is a program open to 14-18 year olds in Hong Kong, with an Intensive option available to high school film classes around the world. To learn more and join our next production, click here or contact us!