Degree of Certainty
A 2025 AFI Conservatory Thesis Film
Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival
World Premiere
Pivotal Moments
Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 6:30pm EDT
HollyShorts Film Festival
West Coast Premiere
Social Impact
Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 2:30pm PDT
50 years ago,
a small group of people had the chance to save the world.
They decided against it,
and created the massive environmental and misinformation crisis we live in today.
Story
In the early 1980s, during a major oil glut, young risk analyst Jackson Miller finds himself on shaky ground at NEXOR Energy Corporation, a leading US oil company. With the company’s profits plummeting, Jackson fears for his job, but a discovery by the climate research division offers him a chance to prove his worth. Armed with alarming data about the impact of fossil fuel combustion on global temperatures, Jackson crafts a comprehensive report, hoping to secure his place at NEXOR. However, what starts as a bid for survival turns into something far more dangerous when his report is used to fuel a climate denial campaign. As the stakes rise, Jackson is forced to confront a moral crossroads—will he fight for the truth or become complicit in a campaign that could shape the future of the planet?
Trailer
Watch the trailer of Degree of Certainty.
Our Team
Simon Schneider
Director & Writer
Maxwell Kagan
Producer
Eliot Grigo
Cinematographer
Jason Sen Luo
Editor
Jessica Burnam
Production Designer
Simon Schneider
Director & Writer
Graduated 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in film directing from ifs international film school Cologne, Germany. He worked as a director and writer for German public television and participated in the young filmmakers program TP2 Talentpool. His short film MADE IN GERMANY won the 2022 Audience Award at the Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival and the Fest Award at the FEST New Directors New Films Festival. His work has been screened at film festivals worldwide and been broadcasted on networks like ARD, ARTE and Disney+. Since 2023 he is a directing fellow at the AFI American Film Institute Conservatory, Class of 2025.
Filmography
(Excerpt)
Silent
Director
Horror | 9 min | 2024
AFI Conservatory
Random Act of Kindness
Director, Writer
Comedy/Satire | 12 min | 2023
AFI Conservatory
Made in Germany
Director, Writer, Producer
Comedy/Satire | 24 min | 2022
Ifs internationale filmschule köln GmbH
I’m With You
Director
Drama | 18 min | 2019
Ifs internationale filmschule köln GmbH
While We Are Here
Director, Writer, Producer
Comedy | 7 min | 2018
Ifs internationale filmschule köln GmbH
True
Director, Writer, Producer
Thriller | 20 min | 2018
Dare-To-Fail-Production GbR
Awards
(Excerpt)
Artist Scholarship of the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service 2023
Fulbright Scholarship Nominee for Foreign Students 2023
American Film Institute Conservatory Scholarship Recipient 2024
Audience Award Winner, Film Festival Max Opühls Prize for “Made in Germany” 2022
Jury Prize Winner: Best Middle length Film, Filmfest Bremen for “Made in Germany” 2023
Producers Network Award Winner, Robert Bosch Foundation for “Made in Germany” 2020
Pitching Award Winner, FEST New Directors New Films Festival for “Made in Germany” 2020
Maxwell Kagan
Producer
Holds a Bachelors degree in Media Storytelling from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. He has an extensive background working in film and TV development at companies such as Marc Platt Productions and Sight Unseen. Prior to enrolling in AFI’s producing program, he spent three years working in entertainment law and management for artists including Charlie Puth and Lauren-Spencer Smith. Since 2023 he is a producing fellow at the AFI American Film Institute Conservatory, Class of 2025. There his script, HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR MAN, was an official selection of the 2025 AFI Thesis Committee.
Filmography
(Excerpt)
Breaking & Entering
Producer
Thriller | 12 min | 2024
AFI Conservatory
Hundred Million Dollar Man
Writer
Comedy | 15 min | 2024
AFI Conservatory
End of the World
Producer, Writer
Comedy | 10 min | 2024
AFI Conservatory
Cliff
Producer
Comedy | 10 min | 2024
AFI Conservatory
Avec Le Temps
Producer
Drama | 2 min | 2023
AFI Conservatory
Random Act of Kindness
Producer
Comedy/Satire | 12 min | 2023
AFI Conservatory
Awards
(Excerpt)
American Film Institute Conservatory Scholarship Recipient 2023
Finalist for the Roy. W. Dean Grant for “Degree of Certainty”
Nominee for Best Dramatic Short at City of Angels Film Festival for “Breaking & Entering”
Finalist at the ETHOS Film Awards for “Breaking & Entering”
Eliot Grigo
Cinematographer
Originally born and raised in Rockport, Maine, Grigo received a BFA in Film, from Syracuse University in 2017. He studied 35mm filmmaking in Prague at FAMU, and attended photographic workshops at Rochester Institute of Technology and Maine Media. Since undergraduate study, Grigo has worked in New York with brands such as Nike, Calvin Klein, and Christian Dior, while shooting narrative shorts. Most notably, LA MUJER DE HECTOR (HECTOR’S WOMAN), which premiered and was nominated for ‘Best of Festival’ at the 2021 Palm Springs International Film Festival; a winner at the 2022 Miami Film Festival; and received a 2022 Vimeo Staff Pick. Recently, CLASSMATES was the highest audience-rated film at the 2024 Proof Film Festival and had its international premiere at 2024 Cinema Jove Festival in Valencia, Spain; and BABY SKIN premiered in Los Angeles 2024 HollyShort Film Festival. Since 2023, he has been a Cinematography Fellow at the AFI Conservatory, Class of 2025.
Filmography
(Excerpt)
The Rite of Screen
Cinematographer
Drama | 16 min | 2024
AFI Conservatory
Baby Skin
Cinematographer
Comedy | 10 min | 2024
Columbia University
Finding Beast
Cinematographer
Documentary | 18 min | 2022
AFI Conservatory, FOFIF, Olivia Accardo
Classmates
Cinematographer
Drama | 19 min | 2022
Columbia University
Hector’s Woman
Cinematographer
Drama | 18 min | 2019
Columbia University
For My Lovers
Cinematographer
Drama | 10 min | 2016
FAMU, in association with Barandov Studios
Awards
(Excerpt)
Nominated for ‘Best of Festival’ at Palm Springs International Film Festival 2021
Winner of WarnerMedia One Fifty Award for ‘Hector’s Woman’ at Miami Film Festival 2022
Winner for ‘Best Documentary Short’ at Kino Short Film for ‘Finding Beast’ 2021
Winner for ‘Best Short Film’ at New Faces New Voices for ‘Hector’s Woman’ 2021
Winner for ‘Best Director’ at Tide Film Festival 2022
Honorable Mention at the Woodstock Film Festival for ‘Hector’s Woman’ 2021
Jason Sen Luo
Editor
Recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film, Video, New Media, and Animation. Co-founding Dope Film Studio with like-minded filmmakers, he has pursued projects offering many creative and commercial opportunities. Skilled as an editor, sound designer, and cinematographer, Jason’s portfolio includes award-winning short films FOUND YOU and PERSONA, with FOUND YOU being a 2022 Independent Shorts Awards finalist. Since 2023 he is a editing fellow at the AFI American Film Institute Conservatory, Class of 2025.
Filmography
(Excerpt)
Bring My Grandma Back!
Editor
Comedy | 10 min | 2024
AFI Conservatory
Prospect
Editor
Drama | 11 min | 2024
AFI Conservatory
Random Act of Kindness
Editor
Comedy/Satire | 12 min | 2023
AFI Conservatory
Found You
Editor, Cinematographer
Drama | 6 min | 2022
Dope Film Studio
Five Point Seven
Editor, Cinematographer
Thriller | 14 min | 2022
Dope Film Studio
Pegasus
Editor, Cinematographer
Horror | 8 min | 2018
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Awards
(Excerpt)
Annual Award Finalist, Independent Shorts Awards for “Found You” 2022
Honorable Mention: Best Cinematography, Oniros Film Awards for “Persona” 2021
Honorable Mention: Cinematography, Los Angeles Film Awards for “Persona” 2021
Jessica Burnam
Production Designer
Jessica Burnam is a story-centered designer with a rich experience spanning fine art, theater, business and film.
Earning a BA in Sculpture from the University of Virginia in 2015, Jessica’s materially diverse installations, sculptures and paintings depict surrealist bodies and dreamscapes. Her work has been showcased in solo exhibitions, residencies, lectures and press.
Professionally trained in theatrical technical production, Jessica is a seasoned scenic painter and an award-winning kinetic puppet designer.
To strengthen her creative leadership, Jessica earned her MBA from The College of William of Mary in 2022. Her thesis explored operational strategies to make material sharing more expedient, financially incentivized and storage freeing for film productions.
As a recent MFA graduate of the AFI Conservatory, Jessica continues to seek opportunities in art directing, set design and production design – vocations that combine her love of artistry and building, storytelling and collaboration, and innovation and project management.F
Cast and Crew
Casting Director
Marin Hope, C.S.A.
Composer
Kole Butler
Costume Designer
Coleen Chan
Makeup and Hair Artist
Brandy Williams
VFX Supervisor
Ciara Borgards
Production Sound Mixer
Delroy Cornick
Sound Designer & Mixer
Kai Scheer
Colorist
Matt Wallach
Full Credits
Written and Directed by
Simon Schneider
Produced by
Maxwell Kagan
Cinematography by
Eliot Grigo
Production Design by
Jessica Burnam
Edited by
Jason Sen Luo
Cast
Jackson Miller
Trace Guzmán
Mr. Leemann
Peter Mackenzie
Mr. Bennet
Rob Nagle
Mr. Williams
John Billingsley
Richard Johnson
Jonathan von Mering
Mr. Fischer
Christian Haines
Evelyn Hawkes
Janet Borrus
Coworker
Dave Kirkpatrick
News Anchor
Kim Akia
Crew
Executive Producer
Carole Joyce
Associate Producer
Corey Brunish
Associate Producer
Jessica Brunish
Unit Production Manager
Becca E. Davis
Production Manager
Jojo Staromana
First Assistant Director
Benjamin Johnson
Second Assistant Directors
Jackson Giuricich
Emily Gularte
Kaylin Stanford
Line Producer
Michelle Levinger
Production Coordinator
Carl Rennie
Production Coordinator
Kaylin Stanford
Production Coordinator
Annie McLaughlin
Script Supervisor
Dana Koops
Script Consultants
Lia Kulakauskas Sá Freitas
Dario Haramustek
2nd Second Assistant Directors
Saulius Baradinskas
Sam Mandich
Mitchell Greenberg
Original Music by
Kole Butler
Casting by
Marin Hope, C.S.A.
Casting Assistant
Jodi Plaia
Camera Operators
Eliot Grigo
Diana Dahllund
Steadicam Operator
Leandro Imaz
First Assistant Camera
Sean Delahunt
Second Assistants Camera
Tyler Fuller
Solomon Zivot
Camera Utilities
Nico Ramos
Eugene Vasyliev
Chije Kang
DITs
Carter Nicklaus
Jason Sen Luo
Gaffer
Keren Paldi
Best Electrics
Antonio Amaya
Thomas Brau
Electrics
Alissa Paradise
Tone Hammond
Felix Xue
Loren Blazek
Pieter Markus
Steven Li
Entao Leon
Shaunette Fenton
Dan Debrey
Rebecca Richard
Key Grips
Arman Meinecke
Luke Scroggins
Dolly Grips
Kelly Pong
Ryan Alva
Benjamin Champagne
Grips
Sky Adams
Jonathan Tolentino
Evangelina Lopez
Willie Harvey
Colin Gallardo
Salvador Pinedo
Samuel Walker
Bryan Kaing
Simran Sawhney
Iniko Amaechi
Swing
Bao Le Cheok
Donavan Robinson
Jahan Khan
Tyler Fuller
Production Sound Mixer
Delroy Cornick
Boom Operator
Chris Cole
Additional Production Sound Mixer
Jason Sen Luo
Supervising Art Director
Naomi Crohn
Art Director
Robert Cuthill
Assistant Art Director
K Sanchez
Set Decorator
Jessica Burnam
Property Master
Carmen Perez
Assistant Props
Lika Kheltuplishvili
Graphic Designers
Nicole Baroudi
Naomi Crohn
Nicole Lahy
Sam Lam
Graphic Assistants
Tina Ter-Akopyan
Valentina Traina
Leadperson
Sarah Marie Reeves
Set Dressers
Jac Brooks
Clinton Cole
William Elder
Anya Jones
Jacqueline Lo
Maria Lubanovic
Tina Ter-Akopyan
Valentina Traina
Safina Wu
Art PAs
Chanel Kaliski
Tyrome Lavoy Lancelin II
Costume Designer
Coleen Chan
Costumer
Austin Williams
Key Makeup and Hair Artist
Brandy Marlin
Assistant Editor
Sydney Sullivan
Sound Design and Mixing by
Kai Scheer
Colorist
Matt Wallach
Dailies Colorist
Brian Nguyen
Visual Effects Supervisor
Ciara Borgards
VFX Artist
Ciara Borgards
Additional VFX Artist
Jason Sen Luo
Still Photographers
Lance Williams
Yuan Kuang
Jake Goldstein
Drivers
Howard Kagan
Carl Rennie
Sam Gallen
Tyrome Walton II
Manuel Antonio Guerrero
Production Assistants
Abigail Morris
Hanissa Kartika
Kate De Groote
Nick Collins
Randi Bueno
Tyrome Walton II
Victoria Gong
Silvio Leroy
Sustainability Coordinator
Jojo Staromana
Catering
Savor De Sol
Background Performers
Paul Stowitts
Chris Ambrose
Aaron Gould-Kavet
Henry Fitzhugh
Nathan Cornett
Pierre-Alric Bozo
David Wright
Alejandro Barron
Jesse Rodriguez
Dirk Voetberg
Andy Hernandez
Lloyd Blum
Angel Strong
Adriana Delia Collins
Joseph Mika
Austin Pugila
Aaron Smithson
Nikita Rudov
Cameron Kith
Gabriel Oh
Michelle Xing
Sam Gallen
Carl Rennie
Kirby Saxton
Mitchell Greenberg
Nate Cornett
Jake McDermott
William Elder
Carter Nicklaus
Kamila Hubacki
Howard Kagan
Mickey Stringer
Jackson Giuricich
This Project Was Supported by
The Amazon Innovative Storytellers Initiative
The Filmmakers Wish To Thank
Jeremy Kagan
Trader Joe’s
Rachel Alexandria
Darryl and Kim Schall
Joan Hornig
John Friedman
Hector Martinez
Henry Fitzhugh
Jacqueline English
Allan Glass
Gerard Medioni
Ken Johnson
Lazy Acres
Robert Leroy
Molly Allison
Daniel Benji
Yihan Qian
Pamela Reit
Filmatic AI
Chelsea Cruz
DAAD Germany
In Sook Kim
Norbert Janssen
Annette Bach-Schneider
Udo Schneider
Christoph Schweitzer
Larissa Staar
Nils Gustenhofen
M. Kruczek-Schumacher
Aryana Kamelian
American Film Institute Conservatory
The American Film Institute is a non-profit organization that champions the future of the moving image as an art form and believes in the revolutionary power of visual storytelling to share diverse perspectives, inspire empathy and drive culture forward. The AFI Conservatory is the graduate-level program inside the institute that trains the future generation of narrative filmmakers. It counts Ari Aster, Patty Jenkins, Darren Aronofsky, Edward Zwick, Terrence Malick and David Lynch as Alumni and is ranked the #1 film school in America.
The AFI thesis film is the crowning achievement of this two-year tenure and showcases in a rigorous nine-month collaborative process the mastery of filmmaking achieved by each fellow. The 15-minutes films are showcased each year at AFI FEST, get screened at national and international film festivals and receive recognition worldwide.
AFI thesis films have been awarded with 18 Student Academy Awards, 2 Academy Awards and 10 Oscar nominations. Notable AFI Thesis Films include Ari Aster’s breakout debut short THE STRANGE THING ABOUT THE JOHNSONS, the Academy Award nominated film DAY ONE, Max Barbakow and Andy Siara’s THE DUKE, Chloe Okuno’s SLUT and Halyna Hutchins’ film HIDDEN, along with Leo Behrens’ SKIN, which just won the Gold Metal at the 2023 Student Academy Awards.
Alumni Recognition
Last Five Years
Academy Awards®
27 Nominations
6 Wins
Emmy Awards®
168 Nominations
48 Wins
Major Festivals
1124 Alumni on 626 Films
AFI DOCS, AFI FEST, Berlin, Cannes, London, New York, Sundance, SXSW, Telluride, Toronto, Tribeca and Venice
Festivals updated as of April 17, 2026
Awards updated as of March 15, 2026
Get in Touch
Send us a message! Our producer Maxwell Kagan will reach out with more information.
You can also email Maxwell directly at [email protected]