“Making Movies that Matter (MMTM)” Youth Short Film Festival is open to all K-12 students within Council District 12 and the West San Fernando Valley. This project will introduce students to the art of digital storytelling and filmmaking while providing critical mentoring and technical support to ensure student efficacy and success.

Building on the success of the MMTM project from 2016-18 and its return in 2022-23, this process begins again in September of 2023 and culminates on May 16th, 2024 with a juried competition and red carpet celebration at the Soraya Performing Arts Center on the campus of Cal State University, Northridge (CSUN). Categories include Documentary, Fictional Short, Public Service Announcement and Animated Short.

This experience is driven by a powerful collaboration between Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee (CD12) and several of our community partners such as the Valley Relics Museum, Region North (LAUSD), Disney and ABC Television, GEC Events, My Valley Pass and the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).

Awards will be made in the following categories by school level (elementary, middle and high school):

-Outstanding Documentary
-Outstanding Fictional Short
-Outstanding Public Service Announcement
-Outstanding Animated Short

With an overall, Councilmember John S. Lee "Best of Festival" award as well.

All winners will be chosen by a special jury.

Films that are world premiering at the Festival are eligible for the Festival’s multiple competitive categories.

Submissions may be uploaded starting Monday, April 22nd, 2024.

Final Deadline: Monday, May 6th, 2024 at 11:59 PM

***Films will not be accepted after the Final Deadline.

Eligibility Requirements:

-Film submissions may be no longer than 3 minutes in length.

-Films must be shot on smartphones or iPads or devices with equivalent sophistication/technology.

-Unless the story or visual content of your film dictates otherwise, please shoot in a resolution of at least 1080p (1920x1080). Regardless of shooting resolution, final films should be submitted in 1920x1080 resolution. Please do your best to capture clean audio and balanced levels.

-A one sentence synopsis/logline of the film must be included.

-Films must be created between January – May 2024 to be considered.

-Filmmakers must be K-12 students or from a pre-approved community organization.

-Submission Categories:
-Documentary
-Fictional Short
-Public Service Announcement
-Animated Short

-Films must be submitted as Quicktime files (i.e. .mov files) in their native resolutions.

-Labeling:
Video files must be labeled as: [FILM TITLE]_[SCHOOL NAME].mov

All films must be submitted online and labeled in the following manner:

-Identify the age group of the filmmaker(s)
Elementary
Middle School
High School

...and category
Documentary
Fictional Short
Public Service Announcement
Animated Short

-Include the contact information for the school and/or each member of the team, including, but not limited to: physical address, phone number and email address.

-Include the name of the Artist-in-Residence who advised or supervised the project, when applicable.

General Requirements:
Shorts exhibited previously, either theatrically, at another local festival or via television or Internet broadcast are not eligible to apply. Rough cuts or works-in-progress are accepted and reviewed. However, filmmakers are urged to submit as close to the final cut as possible.

Special Note: The “Making Movies that Matter” 5th Annual Council District 12 Short Film Festival Artist-in-Residence Program is not responsible for the streaming or projection quality of the submitted file.