The film has garnered attention from around the world, earning 22 festival selections, including the Big Apple Film Festival, and 19 awards, including Best Low-Budget Indie Short at the Cannes World Film Festival and a nomination for Best Drama Short at IndieX Film Fest. “Portrait of a Smile” follows Liam, a 20-something who deals with the aftermath of his girlfriend, Lily, who took her own life. “I’ve gotten so much feedback from people who have struggled with suicide ideation or had attempts, and a lot of Instagram DMs and emails and so on. “What appealed to me about Liberty University was the affordability, the alignment of values I have with the school as a Christian, and how I was able to study while working full time and pursuing filmmaking,” he said. “I did take a screenwriting class through Liberty, which helped with some of the technical stuff of (writing scripts), but it really helped me from a corporate career perspective.