Time is precious so for you movers who already broke your schedule by clicking into this story, THANK YOU. I do hope you were able to spend the 5:34 to watch the highlight film produced, shot, directed and edited by 18-year-old Cyrus Brooks. And, to convey the slightest fraction of the respect and appreciation we share for him and the thousands of filmmakers who have submitted to Scout Film Festival (Scout), I offer a nutshell...

ABOUT THE FUNDRAISER

As one of just three youth-oriented film festivals in the U.S., Scout’s mission is to encourage creative work, connect young filmmakers through community with their peers, engage youth in taking action, and celebrate the open expression of today’s youth through film.

The core of Scout's mission is to cultivate a national and global community connected through storytelling, in which we appreciate each other, learn from one another's stories of triumph and defeat and build our successes together.

This next stage of our strategic plan is one in which we have the opportunity to benefit our loyal filmmakers and partners by growing our audience and establishing Scout as the premiere youth filmmaking movement through which young people can take action to have their voices heard on the large stage. Each of these film projects, and each of these young artists, creates a ripple effect that reverberates in ways we can only begin to imagine.

We believe the space offered by Scout Film Festival, for these young voices to gather, express, support and be supported, has immeasurable impact on their communities at large. By giving them a place to take inspired and positive action, we empower many of the key messengers of our collective future.

Ultimately, Scout is about connecting young storytellers through shared experience, helping them understand their impact, that their unique perspective(s) have value. Our storytellers express themselves through film and Scout invites these dedicated, talented, emerging filmmakers to celebrate each other, in person, every year in Stowe, VT.

The project for which we seek support through this fundraising campaign and the ACT grant is to enhance the level of connections and community created through Scout by creating a Young Filmmaker Scholarship. The money raised here and through the ACT grant will allow us to pay travel expenses/room and board to (hopefully) 25 of our Official Selection filmmakers from around the world whose work will be screening at the festival so they may join in-person for festival weekend. This in-person engagement, paired with our festival program of workshops, talks and screenings creates invaluable connections and understanding between our young leaders from around the world, offering a foundation of strength in support of their individual and combined voices.

Our experience through the 2016 and 2017 festival weekends has shown us that when the young filmmakers are able to attend the festival, the deep value Scout offers them increases exponentially. They have the unique opportunity to meet peers with whom they can share ideas and collaborate on future projects, as well as industry professionals who serve as resources to help them envision and achieve their goals within the film industry, in their own communities, and other endeavors.

Young people seek connection in a fierce and beautiful way. In the best of worlds, they get to do this with compassion, personal engagement, and an understanding of their peers and the world. You can see and enjoy an ongoing, collaborative collage of Scout's storytelling community interacting with one another via our Instagram Filmmaker Takeover Series and on our Vimeo channel.

Through film, our young people are gifted the chance to share the common threads of their experiences and express themselves through their own lens.

Scout Film Festival was founded with the vision of bringing these concepts together into a powerful youth-based community.

The 2018/2019 season is the third year for this rapidly-growing festival, and we seek to continue to evolve and raise to the caliber of work and support for which Scout is already known. In order to fulfill our mission of offering young artists a place where their creativity, curiosity, viewpoints, diversity and belief-in-self are championed, we recognize the importance of bringing together as many of the filmmakers as possible, to connect as a community during the festival weekend.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Scout is an annual, international event that celebrates emerging filmmakers through short film. We hold an annual open call inviting filmmakers worldwide – aged 24 and under – to submit their short films. A jury of leading professionals selects the winning films in each of the 14 categories. Over the course of a January weekend, the young filmmakers, industry professionals and audiences come together in Stowe, VT for festival weekend to screen and celebrate the films, attend workshops/panels/portfolio reviews and to enjoy and learn from each other’s stories.

In our inaugural year (2016), we received over 600 film submissions from 50 countries. The demographics and subject matter varied greatly. Filmmakers from Hvidovre, Denmark (Drama), Kurdistan Iraq (Horror) and Colorado Springs, Colorado (Documentary), for example, screened in succession and touched the audience equally regardless of privilege, resources, education or economic status. In our second year (2017), we received 987 submissions from 67 countries. In this, our third year, we received a staggering 2,161 submissions from 105 countries.

Up to this point in our development we have been able to build a high-caliber, highly-regarded youth film festival on an extremely limited budget. What we have been able to accomplish is something short of miraculous, and we have repeatedly been given the feedback that we have somehow tapped into a demographic - young people - that has long been considered unreachable.

Scout is at a tipping point, having created a huge wave of momentum amongst young filmmakers. We are now faced with the challenge of matching the impact of festival weekend to the size of our presence in these filmmakers’ lives.

We are a unique and revolutionary new voice in the film industry with an emphasis on growing local and global community awareness, and there is great demand from hungry young artists for what we are offering. The implementation of this scholarship is the keystone that will unlock ever-greater opportunities for Scout to expand the stage it offers these young artists.

In supporting these young artists, you could help build a strong community of versatile and thoughtful future leaders while creating a layered movement of encouragement, connection and celebration. Creative outlets give a sense of purpose and direction as young people strive to find their place. This is why it is essential to provide opportunities to encourage, connect, and celebrate the talents of youth. Scout's founding sponsors, Walentas Family Foundation, Visura, The John M Bissell Foundation, Barr Law Group and Spruce Peak at Stowe share our commitment to providing quality, community-based engagement opportunities for youth. Become the next member(s) of our festival family, making the Young Filmmaker Scholarship possible. Every donation, no matter the amount, gets us closer to our goal. You should also consider helping by SHOUTING US OUT ALL OVER THE PLACE! Stranger things have happened, maybe your share launches Scout Film Festival and all our deserving filmmakers into viral history. I am endlessly impressed by and grateful for the constant positive, excited response to our mission and to the work we showcase. Please share this and all our pages.

Local Love, Global Love. Your Scout Film Festival Team

Photo Credit Savannah Brown Photography

Scout Film Festival

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Scout Film Festival