Thirty four short movies from across the US and Canada that represent
a national treasure of teen youth made media…5 hours of pure
creativity and feeling…will comprise this year’s Tower
of Youth, 8th Annual North American All Youth Film and Education
Day. The gala festival event will be held at the Crest Theatre,
9 am – 6 pm, Friday, October 1, 2004. Despite the truly daunting
challenge movie making poses to youth with little or no formal school
support and the struggle to get their hands on quality movie making
tools, this endangered species of young people find the way to boldly
express their deepest interests and concerns through movie making.
The beauty of these fine works is pumped by the non-commercial character
of each movie, that creates a unique window of insight into a generation’s
spirit.
This year’s local showcase
artists include,
• Katelyn Sabicer, filmmaker who attends Elk Grove District’s
Ben Franklin High School has created the lyrical “Love Afoot”
where acting feet tell the story of youth encounter and romance
on campus. (Contact: 916/215-1629)
• Tom McFadden, just graduated from McClatchy High School
and on his way to Stanford University, bounces in with “The
Elements of Ping Pong” that captures an Olympic like special
effects battle between Fire, Water and Wind to overcome a heroic
warrior quality table tennis maven. (Contact: 916/451-9564)
• Jon and Justin Reafsnyder, exuberant twins from Grass Valley’s
Nevada Union High School, wildly spoof a coming attraction style
in their rocking “Vanilla Dulce”.(Contact: 530/268-8864)
All the youth producers of the
showcased entries in attendance will formally interact with the
large audience from the Crest Theatre stage during lunchtime from
12 – 1:30 pm. Lunch is provided as part of the admission cost.
A panel of 20 Sacramento/Sierra
youth juried 160 short movie entries submitted from across North
America to showcase works that represent the generation’s
finest products. A fierce tension grows between youths' pursuit
of access to, and mastery of, this dominating art form in the face
of declining support for digital media teaching technology in part
due to the relentless erosion of funding from within the education
system. The Tower of Youth addresses this issue head on with it’s
annual festival event.
Each year major celebrity speakers
from the digital and movie making industry guide the 1000 youth
audience toward choosing a new decentralized career future.
• Frank Gladstone, "Head
of Artist Development - DreamWorks SKG Animation" will be the
“Career Vision Speaker for the Film Day” speaking at
1:30 PM followed by an extended dialogue with the audience afterwards.
The top public and private film
and media schools in California attend the Annual Film Day to show
their programs and recruit applicants to their institutions.