YOUTH INITIATIVE
Career Day - Workshops - Screenings - WFF in the Classroom

Since its inception as an educational not-for-profit organization, the Woodstock Film Festival has been committed to youth and education as a means to positive development, conflict resolution and growth opportunity.

In addition to providing classes and internships for local schools, the Woodstock Film Festival has presented special workshops and seminars designed to stimulate and to provide resources not readily available in the local area. Additionally, local film production opportunities, made available through the WFF’s Film Commission have provided career opportunities.
 

This free event, has provided youth between the ages of 14-20, the opportunity to have a one-on-one exchange to discuss career opportunities (and much more) with top industry members.

In 2003, and 2004, our youth initiative featured six Academy Award winners.  Participants have included the legendary composer Elmer  Bernstein, United Artist president Bingham Ray, cinematographer Haskell Wexler; filmmaker Leon Gast; screenwriters Ron Nyswaner and  Zachary Sklar, and many other representatives from diverse fields including casting, editing, producing, and more. This is an outstanding, once on a lifetime opportunity for students interested in the field of film and media.

The 2004 Youth Career Day will take place at the Woodstock Elementary school on Saturday, October 16 at 10:30am. You must be between the ages of 14-20 to participate.
 

We will continue to produce, present and promote workshops such as the following past events.

THE ACTIVE VIEWING WORKSHOP

In conjunction with Indie Works, the WFF presented a workshop which examined How to Watch a Video with an emphasis on product placements; bias and point of view; image and repetition and echo; “making the point” with juxtaposition, camera angles, and lighting; establishing character; managing suspense; spotting gratuitous stereotypes, and challenging assumptions.

(The Indie Works programs are run by Indie Works, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping public schools engage students who are working below their potential.) 

MEDIA WORKSHOPS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Children’s Media Workshop presented The Animation Workshop, which featured a hands-on demonstration of various mixed media animation techniques and facilitated the making of a short animated film.

In the Mini Movies Hands-on workshop, CMP provided cameras, editing facilities and media artist/teachers to help teenagers shoot, edit and add sound to create a short movie.

(CMP, The Children’s Media Project, is an arts, education and technology organization whose mission is to give artists and media makers, particularly children and youth, a space, both literally and metaphorically, to create and critically use media)
 

Emmy Award winning Hollywood producer/director Bruce Malmuth presented this intensive workshop, which has toured the world from St. Petersburg, Russia to Beverly Hills to local youth. Over the course of six hours, Malmuth taught the basics of writing, acting and directing.

For info about 2005 screenings, click here.

Our commitment to presenting and promoting films and the students who made them, will continue full-fledged. Each year, the WFF promotes and presents films by college and high school students. Past initiatives have included:

YOUTH SCREENINGS have featured films by local youth and organizations including Children’s Media Project, Reel Teens, the Oxford Media School and Indie Works. Topics have ranged from a short documentary that examined the media coverage on Bin Ladin to an animated short about a robot running low on his batteries.

Other youth oriented screenings included The Children’s Hour - Movies, Magic, and a Dummy, and Family Hour.

For the Children’s Hour, which was co-presented by Nickelodeon, special host Steve Charney combined his magic, comedy and ventriloquism with a selection of short movies for children. Films included Low Down Underground, Patrick Swayze: Cartoon Sound Wizard, Shivelry, Sitting Next to Bernie, Swaroop in Bovine Bliss, Waldemar, and the award winning The Box.
 

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

In 2001, the festival proudly featured two screenings of the documentary GARBAGE, GANGSTERS, AND GREED, which was produced by Hudson Valley High School students, explores  local landfill and political abuses. The screening was followed by an extensive Q&A featuring student filmmakers, their teacher Fred Isseks, former police officer Armondo Bilancione and United States Representative Maurice D. Hinchey. No event could better demonstrate the power of media in the hands of youth.

This event was repeated in 2004 in conjunction with WAMC/Northeast Public radio.  For more information visit our Year Round Archival.

FILM THEORY & CRITICISM (2003): This weekly elective provided a forum in which students learn to learn and distinguish production and theoretical techniques.

VIDEO PRODUCTION INTENSIVE (2002): Kindergarten students  were provided an opportunity to create and appear in a series of short films. The process taught pre-production through post-production.