A Letter From The Founder - Lisa McWilliams

Several years ago, my friend Marvin invited me to visit him on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He wanted to learn about filmmaking because he and his friends had stories to tell, and they wanted to tell them in their own way, and in their own voices.

I must admit I showed up with a preconceived picture of what I might find. We’ve all heard about the high unemployment rates and the epidemic number of alcohol related deaths, suicides and teen pregnancies that plague Native American communities. Evidence of all of that was shockingly apparent during my stay. But thanks to Marvin, the picture I got was more complex.

Sitting at the kitchen table and sharing jokes and stories with what is now my extended Pine Ridge family, I got a real sense of the uniqueness of their culture and society – something I simply couldn’t have learned from a distance. It was then that I realized that film can play a truly vital role…by bringing our seemingly disparate worlds a little closer together.

A few years later, I was working with Jay Craven up near the Vermont/Canadian border while he was running his Fledgling Film program for teens. I met kids from the middle of nowhere who were smart, creative and eager to work. They, too, had amazing personal stories to tell. Thanks to Jay, they had the tools and encouragement to tell them on film. This was kind of my “aha” moment – where I experienced fully the importance of access to both materials and mentors.

I truly believe that film is no longer the literature of our future; it is the literature of today. Digital technology has made filmmaking easier than ever. Trouble is, it’s not available to everybody. Only a small percentage of students in film schools come from rural areas, and of those, only a handful graduate to paying jobs. The gap will grow larger for those in rural communities, unless we find a way to reach beyond the confines of traditional education. And we have.

By traveling to rural communities throughout the country, we’ll bring filmmaking education close to home, inviting students to tell their own stories as they learn the fundamentals of actual film production. The short films that they produce will engage students and their communities in a whole new way…by reflecting on the issues that matter to them most.

We have an opportunity to not only find bright new voices and artistic talent, but to build new audiences for films that will promote cross-cultural appreciation and understanding. This is my calling; I believe in the importance of equal access, and I know you see it too. Please join us on this incredible journey.