Congratulations to the 2023 Freedom & Unity Young Filmmakers Contest Winners!
Inspired by the Vermont Movie Project, FREEDOM & UNITY YOUNG FILMMAKER CONTEST invites young Vermont and New Hampshire residents to create films exploring the life and culture of the Green Mountain and Granite States. Through film, young people explore the issues that they find meaningful, make connections between the past and the present, and share their personal stories. They build filmmaking and communication skills while learning more about themselves and the states they call home. At the screening and awards ceremony, young filmmakers gather to meet and learn from each other. One remarkable result of this project is the weaving together of many perspectives and stories. Winners receive awards and prizes made possible by the Stettenheim Foundation and the Jamie Kanzler Award. All participants gain experience, friendships and valuable connections with regional filmmakers.
The contest is judged in two groups, middle school (6-8 grades) and high-school (9-12 grades), and in three categories, or topics. Personal Stories, History and Contemporary Issues, and Arts and Culture.
PERSONAL STORIES WINNERS
HISTORY AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES WINNERS
ARTS AND CULTURE WINNERS
Personal Stories
Tell a story from your own experience and perspective. Relate your story to the broader experience of life in New Hampshire and Vermont. Personal stories can be your own, from your point of view, or made in collaboration with a friend or family member. These stories can be fictional or fact based, or a little of both.
History and Contemporary Issues
Explore a topic from the past or present of New Hampshire or Vermont. Make the topic engaging. Teach the audience as well as yourself. These explorations can venture into scripted fiction but at their core should communicate something about the chosen issue. Think about connecting the past and present.
Arts & Culture
Show a slice of life in New Hampshire or Vermont. How do people live? What do people enjoy? This third category could be a mix of the first two , as in, how do individuals engage with their state? Use personal perspectives and historical or current examples. Or, this category could be an answer to that question, as in, create a piece of that current arts and culture of New Hampshire and Vermont.