The First Annual Reel Works Film Festival
On a rainy Sunday afternoon, over three hundred audience members made their way to the SVA Theatre in Manhattan, to watch 21 short films at the 1st Annual Reel Works’ Film Festival. Consisting of works from our Documentary, Narrative, In Schools, and Fellows film labs, the festival celebrated emerging filmmakers from historically marginalized communities in order to bring them to a wider audience and bring greater representation to the film industry.
We were joined by alumni panelists (graduates from all the way back to the organization's earliest days) who shared the impact Reel Works made on their lives. Rob Yulfo, a graduate of the 2001 Documentary Lab, reflected on how his experience at Reel Works shaped his career in the industry to become an animator, and Tenia Hardy, a graduate of the 2008 Documentary Lab, talked about how a decision to be part of a fun workshop as a teenager, turned into an opportunity for a life-long career.
The festival also had panels of students sharing their filmmaking process with the audience. Tasnuva Shehrin, from Reel Works Fellows graduating class of 2022, reflected on her experience: “My favorite part was learning cinematography. I didn’t go to film school or anything... and I learned a lot in the last 10 months in the Fellows program and was able to collaborate with the other Fellows. I learned not to be afraid of making mistakes because I realized that you will learn a lot from them.”
Reel Works is already making plans for next year’s event, which will be bigger and better than ever! We plan on inviting filmmakers from across the country, and overseas to submit their films for consideration. The event will run over several days and be seen on screens across New York and Brooklyn.
We would like to thank our jurors, sponsors, mentors, instructors and staff for making this event such a huge success. If you’d like to be part of next year’s festival you can contact Co-Founder & Chief Program Officer, Stephanie Walter at Stephanie@Reelworks.org.
