Last summer, the folks behind the beloved Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) came up with an idea to apply the ethos of their festival — offering opportunities for networking and exposure to up-and-coming independent filmmakers and other creatives — to a new local outreach program that was, by all reports, a hit. In July 2018, a few months before the festival proper, WFF Co-Founder and Executive Director Meira Blaustein and local filmmaker and SUNY New Paltz professor Megan Sperry put out a call for local teens who were interested in working in the film industry — be it writing, directing, editing, producing or something more. The pair found a group of ten eager students to join the program, and thus, the Woodstock Film Festival Summer Youth Film Lab was born.

Over the course of just three short weeks, these students got the chance to try their hand at a variety of film-related professions, all the while rubbing elbows with some seriously talented mentors from the industry, including Academy Award-winning actress Melissa Leo and NYU professor and filmmaker Janet Grillo.

On July 8, the Youth Film Lab returned for a second year, with this summer’s lucky 14 students kicking off their training at Kingston’s Center for Creative Education. This year’s instructors are Woodstock Film Festival Operations Director Jacob Hutchings, documentary filmmaker and producer Gina Abatemarco, and SUNY New Paltz associate professor (and Shawangunk Journal columnist) Gregg Bray. In addition to the day-to-day guidance that these three qualified teachers will provide, the students will also receive instruction from the likes of editor/producer Cynthia Kane, writer/director Katherine Dieckmann, sound mixer Carl Welden and grip/lighting technician Greg Meola, among others. As the course goes on, the students will use what they’ve learned to create a short film project that they will then get to present separately to both their friends and family and an audience at this year’s Woodstock Film Festival, taking place from October 2 to 6.

Not only that, but this program is completely free to all students!

"It was an amazing opportunity to work with young people from all different backgrounds, and to tour the finished product at the Woodstock Film Festival last year," said Bray of teaching at the lab last summer. "It’s also worth noting the caliber of mentors that Megan Sperry and Meira Blaustein put together."

It is the festival’s resources and access to such knowledgeable and influential people in the industry that sets this program apart from other similar youth programs, and it is those factors that will help this class to leave a more lasting impact on the kids who participate. The opportunity afforded by the Youth Film Lab is one that could very well change the lives of the few who participate, and for that reason should absolutely be sought out by any young people in the area who think they may be interested in pursuing a career in film. While it’s too late to join up with this year’s class, next year’s iteration is bound to be bigger and better than its predecessors, so keep an eye on WoodstockFilmFestival.org for more information as it comes.