OUR MISSION

Make A Film That Makes A Difference

The mission of the Youth Film Festival on Social Justice is to inspire high school students to think critically about issues impacting their community, and to teach them the skills necessary to make life-changing media about the issue. We assemble an audience of influential adults to critique the films and hopefully act on their messages. Afterwards, we hold a community event and hand out awards, as many as our budget allows. The goal is that one day every filmmaker who submits a film we be given an award, a video camera, the tool with which to go forth and make more films for social change.

OUR HISTORY

The festival grew out of the desire to inspire students to complete their film projects, and Bresee’s long-standing commitment to social justice for the community. Each festival is based on an issue that impacts our community: People Without Papers, High School Dropouts, Housing Issues, The Economic Crisis. We stress that we want high school students to make film examining the issue from their point of view, not to regurgitate what adults are saying. And we want personal stories, not a dry, academic essay made in video form.

WORKSHOPS

Bresee will train students to make films for the festival. We will take them through the process of making a short film based on a social issue, from idea to post production. We will hold a workshop at your school or community center in the months leading up to the festival. Or students can attend workshops held at the Bresee Community Center. Additionally, Bresee will train staff or teachers to work with their own students: our Train the Trainers workshops last 4 hours and take mentors and teachers who have never taught film through the entire process of how to inspire and coach youth to make short films with a social issue punch.