Foster Youth Aspiring Filmmakers Unveil Short Video Diaries Saturday, Feb. 1 at PBS SoCal’s TO FOSTER CHANGE Youth Voices Showcase
CONTACT Chelsea Grosbeck
cgrosbeck@pbssocal.org
747.201.5202
Film/TV Industry Professionals Guide Filmmakers Through Process Representing Transitional Spectrums of Youth In and Out of Foster Care
(TO FOSTER CHANGE students. Image courtesy of PBS SoCal.)
BURBANK, Calif. – Jan. 31, 2020 – PBS SOCAL announced today that social impact initiative, TO FOSTER CHANGE, will unveil an array of powerful and personal stories in the form of video diaries created by six Southern California foster youth at a special screening event on Feb. 1, 2020. The private event will take place at the Downtown Independent on Feb. 1, 2020 and celebrates the students’ filmmaking efforts in support of cultivating viable solutions and positive change for Southern California’s foster youth. Friends, family and avid community supporters will attend the event for the debuts of each of the six films. Following the screening, all video diaries will be available on the PBS SoCal website and can be viewed at tofosterchange.org starting tomorrow, Feb. 1, 2020. Media can attend the event by emailing communications@pbssocal.org.
TO FOSTER CHANGE is an effort to raise public awareness of the personal struggles, social dilemmas and systemic challenges that affect foster youth. As part of the TO FOSTER CHANGE program, the Youth Voices project is an intense multi-week video diary program that prepares current and former foster youth students for careers in various film production fields with the goal of expanding current narratives and clarifying misperceptions of the foster care system. Youth Voices is in partnership with Justice for My Sister, an advocacy-based media collective founded by Hilda Franco and Kimberly Bautista.
An important component of the TO FOSTER CHANGE Youth Voices program is advancing the skills of the aspiring filmmakers through the expertise of industry professionals. The training offers students the opportunity to independently craft a three-to-five-minute digital piece ranging from short-form, interview- style autobiographies to visual expressions of poetry. Industry professionals Hilda Franco, Ocean Vashti Jude, Karla Legaspy, and Patricia Ovando, as well as lead instructor Kimberly Bautista, coached the young filmmakers in sharing their personal stories.
About PBS SoCal PBS SoCal is a donor-supported community institution that is a part of Public Media Group of Southern California, the flagship PBS station for 19 million diverse people across California formed by the merger of PBS SoCal and KCETLink Media Group. PBS SoCal delivers content and experiences that inspire, inform and entertain – over the air, online, in the community and in the classroom. We offer the full slate of beloved PBS programs including MASTERPIECE, NOVA, PBS NewsHour, Frontline, Independent Lens, a broad library of documentary films including works from Ken Burns; and educational PBS KIDS programs including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Curious George. Our programs are accessible for free through four broadcast channels, and available for streaming at pbssocal.org, on the PBS mobile apps, and via connected TV services Android TV, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.
About Justice for My Sister Kimberly Bautista’s feature-length documentary Justice for My Sister about femicide in Guatemala was broadcast on PBS Stations presented by Latino Public Broadcasting, and encouraged audiences to break the silence about abuse. After receiving critical acclaim, it laid the groundwork for Kimberly to found the arts nonprofit Justice for My Sister Collective. Justice for My Sister Collective (JFMS) is a nonprofit that trains women and nonbinary youth of color to make films with a gender equity and racial justice lens, as a means to elevate their voices, heal from trauma, and overcome financial barriers to entering the TV & film industry. At JFMS, we provide healing centered, trauma-informed instruction and believe the arts is a means to develop leadership and resiliency. With the guidance of our mentors and community-based approach, student filmmakers create a safe space to explore their personal narratives and imagine the world they wish to live in through storytelling.
Instagram: @justice4sister Facebook: Justice for My Sister
Twitter: @justice4sister Website: www.justiceformysister.com