In a Medill School of Journalism course that pairs journalism students with incarcerated peers, two seniors produced an award-winning documentary entitled “Hey Hugo.”
The documentary was created in “Documenting Carceral Injustice,” a class Medill Prof. Brent Huffman began in 2023. In each iteration, the course brings 10 students into a prison where they collaborate with incarcerated students in the Northwestern Prison Education Program to make a short documentary about their life and current situations.
“Hey Hugo” was a product of the Fall 2024 class at Sheridan Correctional Center and focuses on Hugo Ocon and his family’s experience of loss during his incarceration as he waits for his sentence to be overturned.
Alumni Annie Xia (Medill ’25) and Ysa Quiballo (Medill ’25) teamed up with three Sheridan students to produce the film over the span of the quarter.
“(Ocon) had a really clear vision for how he wanted the film to be, and unlike our other Sheridan students who sort of had an idea of what their story would look like, he had a really clear focus of grief and what it’s like to grieve as an incarcerated person, and that was really unique to his story,” Quiballo said.
Quiballo and Xia worked with Ocon and his family to tell the story. They said that out of all the members of the group, his story stood out to them the most.
“At first, I was overwhelmed, not sure of how I would tell my story and how I would be perceived,” Ocon wrote in a message to The Daily. “Ysa and Annie heard my story and believed it and me. Taking away my apprehensions, offering a glimmer of hope.”
Outside of the prison, the pair interviewed Ocon’s family members and discussed their connection with the Sheridan student and how much they miss him.
NPEP students are fully involved in the production of the documentaries produced in the class. Xia said their other Sheridan classmates, Taki Peacock and Kobie Singleton, gave them “fantastic” notes on how to make the film the best that it could be.
“It was truly a group effort and made me comfortable immediately in what could be a very uncomfortable situation,” Ocon said. “I honestly feel much better today about my chances, and my life has been improved by them being in it and what we accomplished.”
Quiballo said she believes what makes the film great is the relationship between Ocon and his family and how much they care about him.
She also spoke to the difficulty of building meaningful connections with Ocon and his relatives and delving into deep, sensitive topics while only having a quarter to create the film.
“They were telling us their stories because they cared so much about Hugo, because he was part of the storytelling process,” Quiballo said.
Huffman said his students often say their experience in his class, including being able to meet and work with the incarcerated students, is “the most incredible experience they’ve ever had.”
He praised Quiballo and Xia’s openness when approaching the class and Ocon’s story.
“Not only are Ysa and Annie doing this incredible job inside the prison and working to tell this story with empathy and care, but also they became close with Hugo’s family and gained that trust,” Huffman said.
At the end of the school year, NPEP held a student recognition day, during which students nominated peers for awards.
Quiballo and Xia’s Sheridan group members nominated them for “excellent directors” and presented them with a handmade award.
Xia said that Ocon pulled an all-nighter the night before the ceremony, making it out of paper and painting it.
“It’s hard to keep hope alive in here; they renewed that hope. What started as a random assignment turned into a friendship that I could only hope can last a lifetime,” Ocon said.
Ocon’s award was not the last award Quiballo and Xia would win. Over the past year, the film has been shown at various film festivals.
The short film played at the Academy Award-qualifying American Documentary Film Festival in Palm Springs, California, and at the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival 2025. “Hey Hugo” also received the Best Documentary Award at the 2025 CineYouth Film Festival.
Looking back on the class and the screenings over the past year, Xia spoke about the last day of the class at Sheridan, when they all showed their films to the Sheridan students.
“I feel like that will always be the most impactful screening,” Xia said. “Just being in that room with them and seeing them find it such a gift that they’re able to see these films get made.”
“Hey Hugo” will be shown at the Chicago International Film Festival on Oct. 25 as part of the Best of CineYouth 2025 shorts program.
As they continue to screen the film at festivals and it is seen by larger audiences, Xia said that she wants audiences to take something away from watching it.
Email: [email protected]
X: @caylalc
Related Stories:
— Formerly incarcerated individuals and educators discuss prison education and reentry at NPEP panel
— NPEP students’ artwork showcased at public exhibition
— Medill professor Brent Huffman discusses his award-winning film ‘Saving Mes Aynak’
