At Austin Film Festival, we believe in fostering creativity for the next generation of storytellers. That’s why AFF hosts, year-round, free arts-education programming for students ages 13 to 18 to introduce students to the arts of screenwriting, filmmaking, narrative podcasting and as well as the entertainment industry at large.

Austin Film Festival’s Young Filmmakers Program is dedicated to bringing arts education opportunities to local, Texas students completely for free. A creative outlet, and more specifically, the act of storytelling, improves students engagement, their communication skills, creates a sense of community, and above all, is a profound exploration of empathy. Austin Film Festival and myself are dedicated to the continuation of this programs believing that the arts are a critical component of student development. We are grateful for all support that helps us fulfill our mission.”

Sally Seitz, Young Filmmakers Program Director

Festival and Conference Scholarship Program

Each year, Austin Film Festival’s Young Filmmakers Festival and Conference Scholarship programs awards over 400 scholarships to local high school students and teachers to attend our annual festival. This competitive scholarship grants students access to all programming provided through the annual Writers Conference and Film Festival as well as programming specifically curated for students. At the festival students are able to interact and learn from the industry’s top creative through opportunities such as the Young Filmmakers Pitch, the Young Filmmakers Roundtable, and even panel and screenings designed specifically for students and educators. 

Austin Film Festival’s Scholarship Program has been a part of the festival since its inaugural year, annually inviting nearly 40 schools to participate. Past Young Filmmaker Program Panelists have included James V. Hart (writer Hook), Pamela Ribon (writer Ralph Breaks the Internet), Charmaine DeGraté (writer The 100), Chuck Hayward (writer Dear White People), Doug Jung (writer Star Trek Beyond) and Lauren Shippen (writer/creator, The Bright Sessions). 

2020 will be no different as students and teachers will have the opportunity to attend the 2020 Virtual Austin Film Festival and Writers Conference.

Digital Storytelling

Austin Film Festival’s Digital Storytelling Programming is an in-school, arts education program that provides middle and high school classrooms with English Language TEKS- aligned, screenwriting, podcasting, and film-production curriculums. These hands-on, six-week units teach students the fundamentals of story-structure as well give students the tools to write their very own short screenplays or narrative podcasts. Select scripts from each in-school program are chosen for full production with the support of Austin Film Festival. Students work together in production teams with the guidance of local filmmakers and editors to give students the chance to see the full process of taking a story from script to screen. 

Since its launch in 2005, Digital Storytelling has served thousands of local students who come from primarily at-risk or low-income communities. A key component of all Digital Storytelling programs is classroom teacher-support.Through the assistance of an Austin Film Festival teaching artist, teachers receive training and guidance on how to best approach the Austin Film Festival Digital Storytelling curriculum and supplementary film digital materials. 

For the 2020/2021 school year, Austin Film Festival has partnered with Akins High School, James Bowie High School, O’Henry Middle School, and Pflugerville High School.

Future Plans for Digital Storytelling 

Austin Film Festival’s Young Filmmakers Program is working hard to launch its Digital Storytelling Program on a national-scale providing curriculum, lessons, and digital resources on the art and craft of screenwriting, filmmaking, and narrative podcasting to middle and high school students across the country. 

If you are interested in supporting the national launch of our Digital Storytelling Curriculum please email Young Filmmaker Program Director, Sally Seitz at yfpdirector@austinfilmfestival.com

Questions?

For more information regarding any of our Young Filmmaker Programs please reach out to Young Filmmaker Program Director, Sally Seitz at yfpdirector@austinfilmfestival.com or call 512-478-4795.