ANNUAL REPORT
Dear Friends of Light House Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2023 is “authentic”. This was determined by the high-volume look-up of “authentic” and was driven in part by articles and conversations about AI. Recently the Wikimedia Foundation announced that ChatGPT became Wikipedia’s most popular article of the year. As the Director of an organization that encourages original storytelling and creation, I’m assessing how best for Light House to retain its authenticity while embracing new industry technologies like AI. Since Light House’s inception in 1999, our programs have focused on personal expression through storytelling and fostering media literacy. We challenge our participants to be more than mere consumers of the vast array of media and Internet messages, to become critical evaluators of the information they receive, and mindful creators of their own independent films. With the arrival of AI-generated content, media literacy, which helps students determine the truthfulness and intent of the media they consume, is essential. Our participants know the many skills needed to produce a film. Students producing documentaries determine their topic, research it, prepare questions, and find interview subjects. Students creating an animation, narrative film, or music video write scripts and create storyboards that specify the different shots needed to tell their stories. All participants learn about camera angles, framing, lighting, directing techniques, and sound recording. When shooting is complete, students edit their footage and add music and sound to finish their film. In addition to technical skills that increase media literacy, our workshops train soft skills like storytelling and the ”5 C’s of a Virginia Graduate”: critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration and citizenship skills. Our survey results confirm students and parents see improvement in these areas. Best of all, creating a film is fun and screening it for friends and family is rewarding. One of the most significant things that Light House will do next year is to create our next 3–5-year strategic plan. While I know that our program will continue to encourage students to tell their own stories through film, we will look at ever-changing technology and learn how best to help our students utilize accessible tools without sacrificing authenticity. You will be contacted to participate in our strategic plan, and I hope you will take the time to let us know your impressions and ideas. Your input is important and your belief in our organization is essential. MORE THAN FILMMAKING Students learn skills for life
With gratitude,
90%
94%
93%
96%
97%
94%
Empathy
Deanna Gould Executive Director
Creativity Communication/ Organization
Light House Studio 2023 Annual Report
Storytelling Collaboration Critical Thinking Page 1
A YEAR OF IMPACT 85 WORKSHOPS COMPLETED
63% SCHOLARSHIPS GIVEN
1,258 STUDENTS TAUGHT
80 SCHOOLS REPRESENTED
Financials
Grants/Fundraising 47%
Programs 70% Operations 11%
Donations/Events 16%
Administration 9%
Tuition/Earned Revenue 37%
Light House Studio 2023 Annual Report
oc
ati o
ds
m
e
o s of Inc
l
rc e
Al
S
ou
Fundraising 10%
n o f Fu
n
Page 2
OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMS Keep it REEL Community Workshops
Our goal is to expand access to arts education for young people 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 diverse perspectives; facilitate collaboration within 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. We guide students on how to mix their school subjects with collaborative filmmaking and support teachers in implementing project-based learning.
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 Charlottesville Free Clinic, Beloved Community Cville, Central VA Learning & Listening Exchange, and the Local Food Hub.
Summer Film Academy/ Tuition-based workshops 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.
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. Light House Studio 2023 Annual Report
Page 3
58 COMMUNITY PARTNERS
"The campers in the room range from having experienced trauma, been adopted, and having some type of disability/mental health diagnosis. As someone who has worked with individuals with high support needs for the duration of my professional career, I can feel protective of them when new providers come in to work with them, especially those who don't specifically work with the targeted demographic we serve. It was such a great feeling to see how Heather, Solly, and Zack came in without any judgement and an open mind. Our campers can say some pretty "out of pocket" things sometimes, which can mean we have a harder time with community partners. I cannot thank you all enough for fully embracing their chaos and jumping in with us." -Taylor Rolt, Assistant Director of Family Support Services at Reclaimed Hope Initiative
Light House Studio 2023 Annual Report
Page 4
VINEGAR HILL THEATRE Opened in 1976 by Chief Gordon and Ann Porotti as a classic movie venue, VHT’s name honors the Vinegar Hill residents who lost their homes when the historically black neighborhood was razed in 1964 as part of a Charlottesville- led redevelopment 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.
VHT now serves our community in unique and powerful ways by (1) providing a versatile, 183 seat venue for film screenings and discussions, (2) offering discounted or free rental fees for schools, organizations, and small businesses, (3) hosting Light House fully-sponsored events with community partners, (4) screening student films created by our local youth.
Light House Studio 2023 Annual Report
Page 5
FILM FESTIVALS Not only did Light House students’ films continue to receive record-breaking numbers of national and international film festival acceptances, we also hosted multiple Film Festivals of our own. In April, Program Director Rachel Lane worked with colleagues at UVA and Mary Washington to l create the Odds and Ends Experimental Film Festival at Vinegar Hill Theatre. Education Director Will Goss worked with the Community Climate Collaborative (C3) to present the inaugural Climate Film Challenge. We also celebrated our community at our 22nd Youth Film Festival in September with 450 people at the Paramount.
Clean Shorts Film Festival Best High School Short
Sun Valley High School Film Festival Top Ten
Light House Studio 2023 Annual Report
Arlington International Film Festival Best Narrative
Coastline Children’s Film Festival Audience Favorite Award
Scan the QR code and go behind the scenes of our annual youth film festival!
Florida Animation Festival Finalist
Garden State Film Festival Best High School Comedy
Page 5
Donations and Grants help to fund our 55+ community partnerships each year. LH finds funding for 80% or more of our community partners, which ensures that all young people have access to our award-winning filmmaking programs. We also offer tuition assistance for all of our programming. Grants often help us to maintain our state-of the art filmmaking equipment library; care for the studios and theatre; and manage other associated costs of running Virginia’s nonprofit filmmaking center. EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Albemarle County Anne and Gene Worrell Foundation Batten Family Fund* City of Charlottesville Vibrant Community Fund The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation Fiddlehead Fund Manning Foundation National Endowment for the Arts PYMWYMI Virginia Commission for the Arts Kwamina and Jason Williford Anonymous PRODUCER BamaWorks Fund of the Dave Mathews Band* Beck Cohen Blumhouse Productions Amy and John Harris Anne and Thad Jones Kelley MacDougall and Mike Pausic Winston Salem Foundation Jenn and Frank Winslow Anonymous DIRECTOR Dr. and Mrs. John F. Angle Katharine B. Birdsall Fund Catherine and Tyler Brown Rachel and Greg Brozenske Pam and Frank Edmonds Stuart and John Ellis Heiner Family Fund Christy and Tom Hickey L.E.A.W. Family Foundation, Inc. Martin Horn Karen Moran and Wistar Morris Family Fund* Beth and Hunter Reichert Rimora Foundation Tenth Street Warehouses United Bank Virginia Film Office Washington Square Films Woodard Properties CINEMATOGRAPHER American Contract Bridge League Alexander Nicholson Elizabeth and Greg Allen Carolyn and David Beach Katherine Brooks and George Beller Birdsall Family Fund Tamar Glaser and Larry Blanford
Holly and Ed Casey Catherine Dee Sally and Bob Duncan Therese and Dan Elron Eastwood Farm and Winery Frank Hardy Sotheby's International Realty Andrea and Peter Gavin Charles Heiner Colby Hall and Ben Heller Higgins Family Charitable Fund Hoskins Family Fund* Ignaczak Family Fund The Janet Stone Jones Foundation Audrey and John Lewis Anna Magee Martin Family Charitable Fund Jessica Nagle Paramount Theatre Sarah Gray and Ned Parrish Katharine Birdsall and Karl Pfefferkorn Rick Preve Elizabeth Perdue Quantitative Investment Management Scarpa Jen and Bryan Slaughter Andrea and Reidar Stiernstrand Tanner-Chitwood Family Fund Ting Internet Virginia National Bank William & Nancy Wardle Fund Anonymous EDITOR Carrington Alvarez and Shreve Ariail Eugenie and Rob Atherton Reina Oostingh and Chuck Braley Brookfield Bocock Fund* The Catering Outfit Kara and James Cox Crutchfield C-VILLE WEEKLY Lynn and Tobias Dengel Cassie and Carrington Guy Dana and Peter Harris Alexis Ryan and Lex Hrabe Cathy and Chris Kramer Barkley and Chris Laing Jill and Patrick Lerner Lifeview Marketing & Visuals Kitt Mattingly Margaret and Chris Noland Beatrix Ost Bitsy and Tom Quist The Redinger Family Fund Renaissance School Risa Goluboff and Richard Schragger
Ted Stephenson Stillfield Fund Christina and Tee Teague Clark Wadlow WOLF ACKERMAN Loring Woodriff Anonymous ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Mary and Jay Blanton Karen Brooks-Fox Katie Cowen Pati and Allen Cunningham Monica and Patrick Jordan Newswise Susan and Robby Noll Nina Ratrie Heather and Derek Sieg Colleen and Brad Spano Kristin Cummings Streed Cate and David Zahl
Taylor Rolt Ann and Dennis Rooker Peter and Jane-Ashley Skinner David Speedie Miller Susen Nell and Steve Tharp Elsie and Mac Thompson Elizabeth Turner Ellen and Paul Wagner Fred and Mary Wolf Lisa Wittenborn *at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
GRIP Rives and Carey Bailey Charitable Foundation BJ and Joe Barnes Cassandra Barnett Katherine Beard Elizabeth Beauvais Bodo's Bagels Olivia Branch Deborah Hellman and Derek Brown Eileen Butler Rosamond Casey John & Kerrie Carfagno Valerie Carfagno Catalysis Fund Maria and Bob Chapel Leah Connor David Erwin Sue and Harry Frazier Tarpley and Scott Gillespie Teddy Grennan Maggie Guggenheimer Jack and Hillary Horn Brian and Andrea Hubbell JLRS Family Fund Jennifer and Joel Jones Karin Little Jones Connie and Jason Kapp Neal Kassell and Meredith Woo Will Kerner David W. and McCrea S. Kudravetz Zanne MacDonald Meg and Noell Michaels Kristina O'Connor Erin Richter
Scan the QR code to make your gift to Light House today!