A Ukiah local and filmmaker returns home this week when his Oscar-nominated short film screens at the Hardley Artists’ Short Film Screening at the Ukiah Theatre’s Playhouse. Will Hawkes, a Ukiah High School graduate and co-founder of the production company Kindred Films was nominated for his film The Last Ranger, about endangered rhino conservation in South Africa. The Last Ranger has earned 20+ film festival awards, including the 2024 Pan-African Film Festival. The film will be shown Friday night at 7.