Reel Works in Schools Film Festival

This past year, 220 middle and high school students in 8 schools across NYC discovered the fun of filmmaking with Reel Works In Schools - our free program that brings professional filmmakers into classrooms to inspire youth people to collaborate and create short films, music videos and visual art. 

See what they created in our second annual Reel Works In Schools Virtual Film Festival!

Although students were only able to meet on Zoom this year, we saw so much creativity and resilience from the teens of NYC. Reel Works in Schools offered several programs for students to choose from: Experimental Filmmaking, Documentary Filmmaking, Fundamentals of Editing, Flipbook Animation, Art of Comedy, Black Women in Cinema, and LGBTQ Representation in Cinema. 

Students love the courses. 12-year-old Aaron Zeng actually devoted his documentary, The Best Documentary Class, to share how much he enjoyed the class. His highly entertaining film opens with the line:  “In all my days, I never, and I mean never ever thought learning could actually be fun.” 

Whether they were documentaries of activism, fan art in machinima, or flipbook animation, students showcased their creativity and skills. Agamjot, as part of the documentary lab, dove into the challenges of the year in quarantine with her family in her film, Living With My Family During Quarantine.  “Although there are multiple benefits”, says Agamjot, “it’s crucial to acknowledge the negative and realistic aspects of being at home together.”  

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At the same time Jayla, Hasna, and Skylar advocated for a more equitable world in their documentary, Black Women in Cinema. In it, Skylar highlights the wage gap between black actresses and white actresses, and the social challenges they face in progressing in their field

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While some of us may look back on 2020 with hopes of forgetting, it’s beautiful to see a group of teens come together and choose to remember the art they made.

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