Voices from the Heart - Youth Filmmakers Program

For over a dozen years, the SFFFF has partnered with local film and video groups and the SF Public Library to bring visual storytelling to children in the Bay Area.

The Frozen Film Festival’s Youth Program is focused on engaging and helping youth become exposed to the visual arts, and learn about pathways in media as a career.

Made possible by teaming up with the Bay Area Video Coalition, Streetside Stories, and the San Francisco Public Library, this new program springs to life in a burgeoning epicenter for young Bay Area filmmakers from ages 6th grade to high school.

Aimed at inspiring and engaging local youth interested in film as a career to create art, the Youth Filmmakers’ series showcases the year’s best films that tell stories that enlighten the current issues affecting youth in the Bay.

SFFFF newly appointed Youth Filmmakers’ Program Director, Sara Judge, has worked with kids and teens for years as a theater-artist, acting teacher and a high-school sub. “There is an unmistakable element of truth and fearlessness in the creative work of kids and teens. I wanted to help provide a platform for those voices, especially to local kids and teens who made films about their lives, the city, and may not have the chance or the resources to submit their films to festivals.”

The response was overwhelming. The SF Public Library happily agreed to co-sponsor the event and films poured in from BAVC and Streetside Stories. Jennifer Collins is the Teen Services Specialist at the library, helping to spearhead the new teen media center.

The program screens annually in June at the Koret Auditorium in the S.F. Public Library, and as part of the full S.F. Frozen Frozen Festival programming in July at the Roxie Theater, in San Francisco, CA. The event is open to the public. Passes will be made available to media wishing to attend.

For more information about the Voices from the Heart program please email Sara Judge, Youth Program Director, at sarajudge@gmail.com. Sponsorship opportunities and community partnerships are now available.

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