Courtesy Wayne DeHart (left) and Mark Banks play the estranged father-son duo in Ya'Ke Smith's award-winning short film, ‘The Second Coming.'

For filmmaker Ya'Ke Smith, the reward for making art comes from the audience.

Winning the prize means Smith, 26 and from San Antonio, gets a $20,000 check and his short film will air on the cable channel next year. “The Second Coming” is coming to HBO in February.

Smith, a Sam Houston High School grad, wrote, directed and edited “The Second Coming,” which was his thesis film at the University of Texas at Austin. Smith, who got his bachelor's from the University of the Incarnate Word, is a lecturer at UT-Austin's film school.

The nine-minute film tells the story of forgiveness and redemption between an estranged father and son.

Reaction to the film has been strong, Smith said.

“I've had people come up to me and tell me the film makes them want to make up with their dads or sons,” Smith said.

Such reaction has come from people of all ages and backgrounds, and that makes Smith proud.

“I love doing films that are real-life, that show the human struggle,” said Smith, who is writing his first feature film, “Stolen Dreams,” which is set to begin filming next year.

Smith still is working on the final drafts of the script and is busy raising funds to finance the film. His production studio, Exodus Filmworks, is having a fundraising event, “The Exodus Experience,” to raise money for the project.

“The Exodus Experience” will showcase Smith's work, including “The Second Coming.”

Melissa Renteria | 210SA Contributor