Vision Maker Media had the honor of hosting a workshop at the annual Dream the Impossible Conference in San Diego. The focus of the conference is to encourage and inspire Native youth to follow their dreams and goals, no matter how impossible they may seem.
We brought two VMM filmmakers — Jeremy Charles (Cherokee) and Josiah W. Jones (Chickasaw) — to lead the workshop and teach about the different aspects and processes of filmmaking. Jeremy is currently a recipient of our Climate Change film funding as well as the mentor to Josiah for the Creative Shorts Fellowship.
During the three sessions, Jeremy and Josiah engaged a packed room of middle schoolers and high schoolers in the joy of filmmaking. They had a hands-on component, letting the kids work with real film equipment and walked them through the correct way to set up a shot for an interview. They shared their own work and the different efforts and components that go into filming. From low budget to high budget, from narrative to documentary style, the youth were able to see the complexities as well as the many avenues of filmmaking.
In addition to the workshop, we set up a booth to promote Vision Maker Media and our mission. Our objective for the day was to inspire the next generation of Vision Makers, and thanks to our exceptional filmmakers, we were able to encourage the youth to dream the impossible!
