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Ohio Screenings Highlight Youth Media
Posted on July 12, 2004
The Youth Media Festival in Youngstown screened Media That Matters shorts and inspiring videos by local youth.
Shira here. I just got back from a weekend in Youngstown, Ohio where the McDonough Museum of Art at Youngstown State University hosted a youth media film festival featuring youth-produced videos from Media That Matters.
The festival featured four screenings which were attended by university and community members. In addition to projecting Struggling to Survive and other shorts made by youth around the country, the screenings included three homegrown pieces from the museum's new youth media program: It's About Me by Elmer Gomez, The Truth About STDs in our Community by Savonnah Hill, and Pastor Jenkins Interview by Sterling Vaught.
The Saturday afternoon screening was definitely the highlight of the festival, with a packed auditorium and the young filmmakers from the museum's youth media program in attendance. After the screening, I had the privilege to meet with Sterling, Savonnah and Elmer, the young filmmakers whose first stab at videomaking resulted in three great shorts on community, leadership, health and identity.
Struggling to Survive and other youth-produced shorts were well-received.
In an informal workshop, we talked about what made them pick up cameras and what impact they are hoping to make through their work. We also talked about some key elements of outreach and distribution as I encouraged them to submit their films to festivals around the country. They are all planning on making more movies and are doing so with continued participation in McDonough's youth media program.
I am looking forward to keeping in touch with Bryn and Leslie at the museum and helping them integrate our Youth Media Distribution Toolkit into their great work in youth production.