ORIGIN STORY

Prize Foundation started Film Prize Junior in Louisiana during the 2016-2017 school year as a high school-focused version of our flagship competition, Louisiana Film Prize. Conceived by Tobias Kallenberg, Film Prize Junior activates students to learn the creative and collaborative craft of narrative storytelling while developing valuable soft skills like teamwork, organization, and communication.

In 2021, we launched Film Prize Junior New Mexico, welcoming students of middle school and high school students from across the state to compete in our festival whether enrolled at a public, private, charter or home school. Students compete for equipment grants for their schools as well as rewards for teachers and the students themselves.

OUR APPROACH TO SKILL-CENTERED EDUCATION

Film Prize Junior’s innovation and success is achieved through the education and support of school faculty and staff in the professional and creative enterprise of filmmaking. We accomplish this through one-on-one interactions between the program’s mentors and the teachers as well as the students. We understand that our ability to work with the students is limited by the natural process of matriculation. That is why we work hard to connect and recruit teachers in the schools who can guide many students through the program over the course of time. We believe this approach yields us the most impact for the students and teachers involved while aiding the development of our creative community here in New Mexico.

As a part of the program, students are guided through the process of conceptualization, story creation, pre-production, filming and production, editing and post-production and finally marketing their films to the public during our festival. This system teaches creative entrepreneurship through experiential learning. To develop these skills, we partner with industry professionals to mentor and educate both teachers and students through virtual panels and in-person workshops which offer guidance and hands-on training. Additionally, our team facilitates communication and networking among our participating filmmakers, allowing us to loan equipment to participants in underserved communities. Through the Prize Foundation, our program awards equipment grants, scholarships and discretionary funds to the schools, students and educators affiliated with our winning films. By encouraging first-time student filmmakers to participate in our competition, Film Prize Junior provides both an easy entryway into filmmaking and an invaluable opportunity to build connections between students and educators in the classroom.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Film Prize Junior is committed to celebrating the rich diversity of New Mexico and its students. Students are encouraged to share their unique stories and perspectives and encourage students to address topics that are important to them. We also welcome films that explore culture, identity and community. In 2022, we received featured 62 short films from 38 schools and 16 counties from around the state. Through our virtual workshops, we were able to connect our New Mexico classrooms with their counterparts in Film Prize Junior Louisiana.