Emmy Award winning actress and civic leader Nancy Cartwright has teamed up with Freshi’ Filmworx to provide a summer program to teach children communications skills and how to make good choices.
Currently in its fifth year of providing filmmaking, communications and production classes to youngsters throughout the country and the world, Freshi Filmworx is partnering with Nancy Cartwright and the Good Choices program, as well as The International Family Film Festival (IFFF) to establish the “Happy House Good Choices™ Movies With a Message™” Contest. This unique film competition, in which a choice of three themes communicates a way in which to make Good Choices, can be entered by students in two age groups, from 6—10 or 11-14 years of age. The theme options are “Take Care of Yourself,” “Try Not to Do Things to Others That You Would Not Like Them to Do to You” and “Try to Treat Others as You Would Want Them to Treat You.” The films, not to exceed 10 minutes, can either be live action, animation or a combination. With computer capabilities and programs like those of Freshi, younger and younger filmmakers are evolving.
Nancy Cartwright works diligently through her non-profit Happy House, which is responsible for the Good Choices program that is sponsoring this contest, to try to help to build better families. “We are ecstatic that the very basic principles of decency and ethics we try to instill in kids from grade school through high school will now be included in the Freshi programs and that kids will have an opportunity to creatively express them through film.” The actress, who is in her 22nd year of voicing Bart Simpson, and has more credits than can be listed here, goes on to say, “Filmmakers of any age have the ability to change the world with their ideas, images and stories.”
There are multiple reasons for this endeavor. According to Suzanne Shoemaker, one of the founders of Freshi, “The dropout rate in schools was approaching 50% nationwide and we realized we had to do something to infuse the visual communications tools of the 21st century into the classroom to get kids reengaged.” She also feels strongly that film projects provide an opportunity for kids from different cultures to work together rather than judge each other, thus providing the foundation for unconditional relationships that are not based on indiscriminate hate or fear.
The Grand Prize, for Best Overall Film, is a day In Hollywood with Nancy Cartwright. For Best Representation of Theme, the winner will get an escorted tour of Universal Studios Theme Park and a video camera, for Audience Favorite an escorted tour of an animation studio and a visit to a taping of a show, Most Imaginative film creator will receive an escorted tour of a film studio and a free Hollywood Film Camp, Best Use of Filmmaking Skills will be rewarded with a free filmmaking program for the school the student goes to and a video camera and the Best Family Project (one in which the entire family participates) will receive a free DVD series, “How To Make Movies,” and a day with a filmmaker filming the family. All prizes will be given in each age category.
The submission deadline is January 16, 2011. Fifty semi-finalist films will be chosen to be submitted to the International Family Film Festival (IFFF) for judging. These filmmakers will be notified of this selection by January 26, 2011. Twelve films will be selected as Finalists in each age bracket and screened at the International Family Film Festival (IFFF) in Hollywood on March 19, 2011, when and where the award presentation will take place. For additional information contact (818) 882-7483 or log onto www.movieswithamessage.org.
