Prison Documentary by UC Merced’s Sharim Awarded at Phoenix Film Festival

A documentary by a UC Merced professor that enters the bleak world of a fading, elderly man in a Virginia state prison received one of the top honors at the Phoenix Film Festival.

Media and performance studies Professor Yehuda Sharim directed "Where's My Coffee Cup?" - directed by media and performance studies Professor Yehuda Sharim - earned a Copper Wing Award for Best Experimental Short Film.

The Phoenix festival is a well-established, respected event, Sharim said.

The documentary presents the indignities suffered by an inmate, identified only as John, who has been behind bars for more than 30 years. The confiscation of his coffee cup illustrates John's loss of dignity and humanity.

"I am honored to receive this award, and to witness how John's life story from behind bars is creating such an impact, and to see that his questions about care, aging, forgiveness, punishment, family and love allow us to ponder together how we treat one another," Sharim said.

In 2026, "Where's My Coffee Cup?" was a finalist for a best documentary award at the International Black & Diversity Film Festival in Ontario, Canada, and at the Las Vegas Black Film Festival. It was a nominee for best short documentary at the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival.

The documentary will be screened May 9 at the LA Black Film Festival in Los Angeles and June 7-8 at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Black Film Festival.

"Where's My Coffee Cup?" was released in 2025 and screened several times that year domestically and at international festivals in South America, Europe and Asia.

Supporters of the documentary include the Henry Luce Foundation and the UC Merced Center for the Humanities.