Three SFU film students took home major awards in the student film category at last month’s Vancouver Short Film Festival. David McDonald’s sci-fi thriller Empire City, which depicts a city controlled by crime and corruption, won best director, best cinematography, best editing and audience choice awards. Jun-Sun Song’s drama The Letters, about a student’s experiences and thoughts on graduation, won for best screenplay and best actress. And Julia Hutching’s Irradiate, about a daughter torn between social and emotional responsibility when her mother dies at home, won for best sound.