Liberty alumnus wins international student film award for volleyball movie

What began as a simple personal project for Liberty University alumnus Lincoln Edwards (’25) became an award-winning short film that brought the sport of men’s indoor volleyball to the big screen in a way no film has before.

In April, Edwards’ film “Find Your Why,” earned Best Student Film at the 2026 International Beverly Hills Film Festival (BHFF) and was screened at the iconic Mann’s Chinese Theater. He accepted the award at The Beverly Hilton, the same venue that hosts The Golden Globes.

Edwards, a 23-year-old cinema enthusiast from Texas, began making home movies at age 10 on an iPod 5. He came to Liberty as a freshman in the fall of 2023 and began taking cinematic arts courses. He quickly found a home on the men’s DII indoor volleyball team and practiced with the beach squad.

He approached then-Head Coach Joshua Knapp with the idea of producing a 30-second, Nike-style commercial for the volleyball program. What started as simply a fun pursuit quickly evolved into a short film — much more impactful than a brief promotional.

“Men’s volleyball is one of the most visually interesting sports,” said Edwards, who earned an associate degree in interdisciplinary studies during his two-year stint at Liberty. “You have all these tall guys jumping through the roof, but it’s never been caught on camera cinematically.”

In the fall of 2024, Edwards was sitting in Convocation, pondering his project and jotting down notes when he said the story for “Find Your Why” suddenly “downloaded into my head.”

“By the end of Convo, I had the whole story laid out in my notes, which has never happened in one sitting ever,” he said. “It was really just being in God’s presence, and it just downloaded.”

The 6-foot outside hitter spent the next four days meticulously writing the script, developing a detailed shot list, and crafting the dramatic fictional story about a freshman volleyball recruit who must discover his purpose while struggling to earn a starting spot on his team – a  journey that Edwards said closely mirrored his own experiences with the sport.

Former Liberty outside hitter Anthony Bernardo played the lead, and many members of the volleyball roster participated as actors and extras. Edwards sought help from his classmates in the CINI program, and his older sister, Liberty online psychology student Rinnah Edwards, helped with production. The entire film was recorded on or near campus.

“Coach Knapp, all the men’s volleyball team, and my crew pulled so many strings and sacrificed so much time, energy, and effort when it was not convenient, with possibly nothing in return, all for this project and me, and it meant the world. I’m so grateful,” Edwards said. “I had high hopes for the project, and I communicated that up front to everyone to help motivate them, but there still was a chance that nothing big would happen with it, and they still gave their all.”

The 10-minute film features an original score by composer Cody Kurtz Martin, whose projects have been featured in shows on Hulu, Apple TV, Disney+, Angel Studios, and Netflix.

“It was a great learning experience working with a composer like Cody Kurtz Martin,” Edwards said, noting that he connected with the composer through social media.

Upon completion in 2025, the drama was submitted to multiple film festivals, including the International Beverly Hills Film Festival, the International Christian Film & Music Festival, and many other smaller festivals.

Thousands of projects from around the world are submitted across all categories for the BHFF, but only 450 were selected for consideration this year.

“We were not only going up against student film submissions from around the world, but we were up against prestigious film schools, like graduate students from big film schools in New York and L.A., and this film still won,” Edwards said.

“I did not think that it was ever going to become that big, let alone win the award for best student film, so I’m super proud of Lincoln,” said Bernardo, who attended the BHFF with Edwards and several other cast members and Liberty film students. “I’m super grateful that I got to be involved in that project that kind of helped launch (Edwards’) career even more.”

Edwards now works for AYIN Entertainment in Texas, where he is part-owner and founder, creating commercials, documentaries, and other digital media and film projects. He said his time at Liberty helped shape his faith and career and that his screenwriting course (CINE 201) helped him perfect his script.

“I loved my time at Liberty, and I think fondly of it,” he said. “I could just tell that God was leading me to Liberty. I didn’t exactly know why yet, but I could tell that that was clearly happening. I grew as a man towards God, which was what I was hoping for.”