Students from Santa Rosa High School put together a film as well as young people from San Leandro playing paper games. Another film will feature rap from Alameda's Alternatives in Action. They are presenting the 8th Project Youth View Film Festival which features works by Bay Area young people.
"Our motto is, 'Put a camera in our hands and we'll show you our world,' and I believe that young people really do that throughout the Bay Area," said student Dee McWilliams.
They are showcasing issues young people face. They received more than 70 entries and judges narrowed them down to a dozen films.
"Anyone from someone who has been involved in making film to someone who just likes watching TV. Their vote is valuable because we want to have a really well-rounded opinion," said multi-media coach Nicholas Basta.
One film features a Holocaust survivor as he remembers World War II. It's a film by Zac Goldstein who says he wants to tell stories.
"The technology is there and I think the creative passion is enough to push me forward," said Goldstein.
Goldstein is from Alameda High School where filmmaking students get encouragement.
"We sort of break it down on a technical level as well as aesthetic level and it gives them the power to look at work as a piece of art and really be objective about it," said TV production instructor John Dalton.
"For a lot of young people, this has been the turning point in terms of thinking about careers in all sorts of multi-media," said executive director Patricia Murillo.
Showing the success of Alternatives In Action goal of preparing them for college, career and community.
The films will have a red carpet premiere on the big screen of The Alameda Theatre. The audience will be able to vote for their favorites and the judges' choice award winner will be flown to Hollywood for a private screening with HBO executives. And who knows where that can lead. Some past winners are already in the film business.
