On Thursday, September 29, the Long Beach Post hosted an event to honor young people from around the city who are doing great things to better their community and beyond. Out of hundreds of nominations from our readers, judges chose 40 winners, representing a range of professions and activism. The Post will be profiling each honoree in the coming days.

Long Beach City College graduate Sanjin Malesevic believes the purpose of art is to make people feel and think, which he does through his films, which spotlight local underrepresented artists and the city itself in front of a much larger audience.

“With filmmaking being such a highly collaborative work, it is extremely important to me that people I work with, and who more often than not actually donate their time to me and my ideas […] are being both publicly recognized and personally fulfilled after each of the projects,” Malesevic said.

Malesevic’s latest film, a short titled Tetched, was produced and almost entirely shot in Long Beach, where most of his work is done. His latest project is the recently launched Long Beach Underground, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting art and local artists.

Malesevic said he was flattered to learn he was a 40 Under 40 winner.

“I love Long Beach,” he said. “Long Beach has a lot of amazing talent and being recognized by that very same community I have so much respect for, it’s really great. It makes me feel I’m actually doing something of substance, and needless to say, I’m really humbled and honored to receive this award. Hopefully, I will continue to produce quality work and make everyone in our community proud.”