Education Dear Friends, Amidst the uncertainty and unique challenges of the past year, Montclair Film + Education remains committed to helping students of all ages find their voices and tell their stories. Over the past year, our dedicated instructors taught virtual courses in Filmmaking, Screenwriting, Voice Acting, Acting for Film and TV, Editing, Podcasting, and more! Documentary and Horror fans, as well as seniors from The Montclair Institute for Lifelong Learning (MILL), screened films and came together on Zoom for lively conversations with filmmakers and community. And our 505 Films + Friends club continues to provide a welcoming and inclusive space for teens and young adults, with and without disabilities, to engage intellectually and socially through the viewing and discussion of films. As schools continued to teach remotely, Montclair Film + Education extended their partnership with North Star Academy in Newark, providing virtual hands-on workshops for their students. We also partnered with Talking Eyes Media to bring THE SACRIFICE ZONE, Julie Winokur’s powerful film about the fight for environmental justice in Newark, to teachers and students throughout the region. In June, Montclair Film opened its doors for the first time in over a year to celebrate our Emerging Filmmaker Competition (EFC) winners. Clearly, even COVID could not dampen the spirits and creativity of these young filmmakers! We held three red carpet ceremonies to award the 42 EFC winners and were thrilled to welcome filmmakers from as far as California! As the world began to open up, our 2021 Summer Academy successfully launched with COVID safety protocols in place. In addition to six filmmaking workshops, tweens and teens enjoyed workshops in Screenwriting, Acting for Film and TV, Editing, Visual EFX, Comedy Writing, Stand-up Comedy, Podcasting, and Directing while our 2021 Summer Mini-Camp offered adults a choice of online or in-person classes. Less than a week after summer classes wrapped, Hurricane Ida ravaged our building, destroying our media labs, storytelling studio, and cinema, as well as our equipment. While some of our fall classes have been postponed or moved online, we remain optimistic as we continue to rebuild and serve our resilient creative community. As always, we are so very grateful to our dedicated instructors, to our generous donors who help make our programs and classes accessible to all, and to our students who make it all worthwhile! Wishing you all a healthy and happy year to come. Warm regards,
Sue Hollenberg Education Director Montclair Film
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