Bay Area Youth Film Short Screening and Awards Night in Alameda

From Alternatives in Action:

Alternatives in Action will unveil 9 outstanding Bay Area youth film shorts during an evening of film screenings and awards at its ninth annual Project YouthView.

Held on Thursday, May 9 at venue sponsor, the historic Alameda Theatre and Cineplex (2317 Central Ave.), the film festival is presented by Comcast and sponsored by HBO.

VIP Reception starts at 5:30 p.m, and doors open at 6 p.m. The Program begins at 6:30 p.m.

The screening features the nine winning Bay Area youth film shorts, selected pieces by the students at Alameda Unified School District, and the 2013 Academy Award-winning documentary Inocente, with a special Q&A with the star of the film.

The evening also includes the announcement of a  “Judges’ Choice Award Winner”, selected by a distinguished panel of judges that includes Russell Simmons, Pauley Perrette, and Terence Winter of the award-winning HBO drama, Boardwalk Empire.

Audience members will also be able to cast their vote for their favorite youth film. Both the Audience and Judges Choice winners will receive cash and prize gifts.

Project YouthView creates a venue for youth to tell their stories, opens dialogue between youth and adults about the issues young people face, and inspires youth to pursue a career in arts and media.  

Additionally, in partnership with adults, youth participating in Alternatives in Action help to plan, lead, organize and implement every aspect of the Project YouthView event.

Proceeds from Project YouthView benefit the multi-media programs of Alternatives in Action and enable Alternatives in Action to continue Project YouthView as a powerful vehicle for youth expression.

About the Films

The selected 9 youth-created films were chosen from over 75 submissions from across the Bay Area. The shorts use powerful images, animation and narrative storytelling to shed light on issues of importance to young people, with topics as diverse as environmental stewardship, bullying, the impact of violence on urban youth, homelessness, and the power of

the imagination. In each film, the voice and style of the filmmakers shines uniquely through, sometimes jolting us awake, or delighting us with their humor and whimsy.

In the feature documentary, Inocente, is an intensely personal and vibrant coming of age tale about a young artist’s fierce determination to never surrender to the bleakness of her surroundings. At 15, Inocente refuses to let her dream of becoming an artist be caged by her life as an undocumented immigrant forced to live homeless for the last nine years.

Inocente is both a timeless story about the transformative power of art and a timely snapshot of the new face of homelessness in America, children. Neither sentimental nor sensational, Inocente will immerse you in the very real, day-to-day existence of a young girl who is battling a war that we rarely see.

The challenges are staggering, but the hope in Inocente’s story proves that the hand she has been dealt does not define her, her dreams do. Inocente recently won the 2013 Best Short Documentary at the Academy Awards; the star of the documentary will be attending and leading an audience Q&A.

This year’s screening also highlights additional youth shorts created by the students of Alameda Unified School District.

Information and Tickets: Available online at www.projectyouthview.org. Tickets are $5 for youth, $10 for adults and $100 for two tickets in the catered VIP balcony. This includes appetizers and drinks during an early reception.