Washington, DC, March 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With nationwide school closures, students are living out the question, “What would a world without ‘school’ look like?” Education Reimagined, a national non-profit that often uses this question as an invitation for communities to imagine what education and learning could look like, invites young people 18 years old and under to answer this question directly by participating in the Young Filmmakers Challenge. The Challenge brings together young learners to produce and submit short films that offer a new vision for education and learning, one that uniquely aligns itself to the distinct interests and passions of every individual learner.
“With the world facing unprecedented challenges, educators, parents, and students have to rethink learning in real-time. This film challenge offers students a way to use their current reality as a moment to unleash their creativity and imagination towards a new future by documenting what they’d like education to be if school didn’t exist and they weren’t confined to their homes,” said Kelly Young, president of Education Reimagined.
“This is a difficult time for families transitioning to at-home learning, and we hope this film challenge can offer students a refreshing and unique opportunity to explore their passions and curiosities,” said Young.
Young filmmakers, guided by thought-provoking questions, are challenged to integrate their interests and passions, their desired settings for learning, the community members they believe are needed to guide their work, and the positive impact their learning and exploration should make within their communities and beyond.
Submissions for the Young Filmmakers Challenge are due by May 1 and winners will be announced on May 15. The jury for the Challenge will award prizes for Best Overall Film, Best Local Film, Best International Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and then three Best Film categories for varying age groups, including Best Film Under 11. The producer of the Best Overall Film will receive $250 and, along with one guest, an all-expenses-paid trip to their film’s public screening in Washington, DC in October. Other winners will receive $100 and an invitation to the event.
The winning films will be shown at Unleashing the Power of Young People—a film festival hosted by Education Reimagined. The three-day event serves as a featured component of the inaugural DMV Remake Learning Days festival (October 1-12), which will celebrate, and expand access to, innovative learning experiences and opportunities for all young people.
“Recent school closures provide the unprecedented opportunity to come together to offer the support, guidance, and most importantly, autonomy our young people need to shape a new kind of learning journey that leads them to their dreams and values their potential,” said Monica Snellings, Vice President of Communications at Education Reimagined and director of the Film Festival.
“Through the Young Filmmakers Challenge, we hope to give students a sense of purpose during this time of reevaluating and discovering what learning means to them,” said Snellings.
To submit your film to the Challenge, or learn more, visit https://filmfreeway.com/EducationReimaginedYFC.
About Education Reimagined
A national nonprofit based in Washington, DC, Education Reimagined partners with a growing movement of visionary leaders (of all ages) who are forwarding a new future for education in their communities and across the United States. The organization aims to deepen and spread the presence of learner-centered education such that it is available to each and every child in the country, regardless of background or circumstance. For more information about learner-centered education, and to explore promising examples of its impact in communities across the country, visit www.educationreimagined.org.