BY JANA CAROLE — AIFF Learn will once again support AIFF Teen Press in 2020, a program that helps local middle and high school students discover what it means to be a journalist. Like our AIFF independent filmmakers, our AIFF Teen Press students learn how to find the real story, going beyond what first meets the eye – and in the process, they quickly discover that everyone has a story to tell. AIFF’s Teen Press teams then tell that story with integrity and enthusiasm. This year, our teams will represent Ashland Middle School and Ashland High School, Scenic Middle School and Crater High School in Central Point, and Kids Unlimited Academy in Medford. More schools may be added from throughout the valley.
Teen Press journalists have unique opportunities to connect with our visiting filmmakers, often challenging film directors and producers with questions that they’ve never been asked before in an interview. Once their interviews are done and the film festival wraps, they finish editing their work in post-production. As one of our Teen Press teachers aptly stated last year, “We set out to make a video, but we created art instead!”
With their intensive preparation and rigorous schedules sustained throughout the film festival, our AIFF Teen Press teams emerge with a sense of accomplishment and new journalism skills aimed at ferreting out truth. We look forward to seeing what they discover this year!
