Dear Friends of Light House
Sometimes it’s a thoughtful remark made during a casual conversation that sticks with you for months. At one of our fall events, a parent of a Light House filmmaker made an effort to tell me that Light House was being mentioned in their child’s college application essays and more specifically, collaboration, an inevitable part of the filmmaking process, was highlighted. Having participated in workshops for many years, including both the SFA two-week HS narrative workshop and the Adrenaline Filmmaking Project, collaboration is what the student chose to emphasize about their experience with LH.
Most of you know that the Light House team believes in the importance of “soft skills” including creativity, empathy, critical thinking and yes, collaboration. Post workshops, we ask our students and parents to report on improvements in these areas. Students often tell us that collaboration is the most difficult skill of them all because it’s not easy to compromise when it’s your idea. We have always said that we do not expect every student taking a Light House workshop to become a filmmaker. This is not our goal. But we do believe that the skills students learn beyond technical filmmaking will carry relevance throughout their lives.
I love seeing students work together towards a common goal and this is exactly what high school students in our Summer Film Academy Animation workshop did. According to teacher Will Goss, these students barely lifted their heads during the two week/60 hour workshop. They successfully divided sections of the film utilizing different animation techniques and the end result is exceptional. The film has already been accepted to 4 film festivals winning 2 awards. I’m happy that these students will not only have a lasting tangible product but I feel certain they will remember this experience forever.
Collaboration is also an important part of the Light House business model. Our mission statement states “Light House Studio equips young people with the skills and confidence to tell their stories and build community through collaborative filmmaking…”. Our DEI statement states the importance of our community partners as we recognize that we work with them “to create access to cinematic arts through films and filmmaking, amplifying stories to foster connection and, for a moment, experiencing the perspectives of others”.
Since Light House’s inception, we have continued to expand our community partners and this year we collaborated with 69 schools and nonprofit organizations listed in this report. Thanks to our partners, we get to teach more young people in our community and we amplify the good work that they are doing including climate change, emotional and mental health support, gun violence prevention, among many other important causes.
We are grateful to be part of the Charlottesville community. And we are grateful for you,
Deanna Gould
Executive Director
Will Goss Creative Director
Kristen Dillehunt Operations Director
Zack Marotta Education Director
Deanna Gould
Executive Director
Rachel Lane
Programs Director
Kayla Saunders
Teaching Specialist
Lindsey Hepler
Engagement Director
Jalia Dillard
LOCAL NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIPS
TOTAL STUDENTS
69 34 FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS 24 66%
400 COMPLETED FILMS
FILM FESTIVAL ACCEPTANCES OF STUDENTS ATTEND FREE OR WITH REDUCED TUITION 1,514
96% 94% 96%
STUDENTS IMPROVED CREATIVITY STUDENTS IMPROVED COLLABORATION STUDENTS IMPROVED STORYTELLING
OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMS
KEEP IT REEL COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
Light House expands access to arts education for young people through in-school, after-school, and summer workshops. Our goal is to remove barriers to access by teaching any interested student, regardless of their ability to pay.
Since 2003 Light House has conducted free-to-participant filmmaking workshops with nonprofit partners throughout Charlottesville. Our programs encourage self-expression; give under-resourced youth an opportunity to share their diverse perspectives; facilitate collaboration with other local nonprofits and among youth from different areas of our community; and teach technical film skills in addition to transferable soft skills essential for college and the job market.
Light House teaching artists go into area public and private schools to teach hands-on filmmaking workshops during the school day. We guide students on how to mix their school subjects with collaborative filmmaking and support teachers in implementing project-based learning.
SUMMER FILM ACADEMY
For over 20 years, Light House Studio has offered filmmaking workshops for High School, Middle School, and Elementary School students. We teach the basics of filmmaking, advanced skills, specialized topics, and more. Every workshop concludes with a family and friends red carpet screening at the Vinegar Hill Theatre. Fundraising efforts support tuition assistance/financial aid in order to ensure that all interested students are able to access these programs.
SIGNATURE FILMS
Our Community Partnerships also include the creation of signature films that use film as a means to explore social issues. Our Freelancers Program support this work. Experienced Light House teen filmmakers help create films for area nonprofits and businesses. Students pitch ideas, write a script, storyboard, film, and edit the final project, which is shown at live screenings, online, and on local television. Recent partners include Peace Up, Guns Down; Reclaimed Hope Initiative; Democracy in Dialogue with Virginia Discovery Museum (In partnership with the Smithsonian Institution); Speak Your Truth, with UVA TYDE and UVA Psychology; Sin Barreras/Cville Sabroso Festival; United Way, Day of Caring.
ADRENALINE FILM PROJECT
AFP is a 72-hour filmmaking workshop in which 10 teams (high school through adult) compete for cash prizes by writing, shooting, editing, and screening their own 3-5 minute films with guidance from mentors from across the industry. Teams are assigned a genre, line of dialogue, and mystery prop to incorporate into their short films. The project culminates in a screening of the films at the Vinegar Hill Theatre along with an awards presentation. Previous winners have found success in their acceptances to film schools, submissions to Sundance, involvement in the industry, and with starting their own production companies.
OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMS
PARTNERSHIPS COMMUNITY
Abundant Life
Albemarle Campus Boys & Girls Club
Albemarle Housing Improvement Program
Albemarle HS Eco Club
Big Blue Door Improv Show*
Black Love Symposium
Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention
Burley Middle School
Center 1
Central Virginia Community Support Fund
Charlottesville Day School
Charlottesville High School AVID
Charlottesville High School Urban Farming
City of Charlottesville Office of Human Rights
Community Climate Collaborative*
Community Homeschool Enrichment Center
Creative Mornings
Cville Renewal Energy Alliance
Elk Hill School
“Fall Fest” Independent Film Festival
Four County Players
Front Porch
Henley Middle School
Hummingbird Fund
Indie Short Film Festival
Inequality Media Civic Action
International Rescue Committee
Ivy Elementary
Journey Middle School
Lafayette School
Live Arts
Lugo McGinness Academy
Mountaintop Montessori
Music Resource Center
Peabody School*
PEGGLLLLab, UVA Batten School
Piedmont Family YMCA
Reclaimed Hope Initiative*
Region Ten
Rivanna Conservation Alliance
Robertson Media Center at UVA Library
Shenandoah National Park Trust*
Sin Barreras
Slasher 15 Productions
Southwood Boys & Girls Club
St. Anne's-Belfield School*
Tandem Friends School
Tech-Girls
United Way
UVA Center for Community Partnerships, Starr Hill Pathways
UVA Department of Sociology
UVA Department of Special Education
UVA School of Medicine
UVA TYDE (Thriving Youth in a Digital Environment)
Victory Hall Opera
Village School
Virginia Discovery Museum
Virginia Festival of Book
Walker Upper Elementary School
Welcoming Greater Charlottesville
Western Albemarle HS Eco Club
*Multiple programs
VINEGAR HILL THEATRE
VINEGAR HILL THEATRE’S ORGIN
Opened in 1976 by Chief Gordon and Ann Porotti as a classic movie venue, Vinegar Hill Theatre’s (VHT’s) name honors the Vinegar Hill residents who lost their homes when the historically black neighborhood was program. After the theatre closed in 2013, Light House was able to purchase and renovate the space as a teaching studio for youth filmmaking and a fully operational cinema. We chose to keep the theatre’s original name and to operate VHT as a community theatre that explores important topics and brings people together.
razed in 1964 as part of a Charlottesville-led redevelopment
CHARLOTTESVILLE’S COMMUNITY THEATRE
VHT serves our community by continuing to operate as a locally owned, independent cinema. It provides a versatile, 183 seat venue for film screenings and discussions; offers discounted or free rental fees for schools, organizations, and small businesses; and screens student films created by our local youth. We offer community event space while leveraging film as a tool for communication and a catalyst for discussions over issues of gender, race, the environment, and ways to improve our local area. We screen quality, thought-provoking films – many of which don’t typically screen in Virginia – to create a sense of community connection.
In 2026, Vinegar Hill Theatre will be celebrating its 50 year anniversary!
FESTIVAL