Wellpinit School District

The 2018 NATIVE YOUTH MULTIMEDIA WORKSHOP partnered with Paramount Studios and conducted a workshop at Wellpinit Middle School in the Spokane Indian Reservation. 

The workshop was an intensive film program that was designed to teach acting, writing, directing, camera operation, and video editing to Native American youth.  In the program,  Spokane Native youth produced four films on what is currently affecting their tribal community such as local fires, drug addiction, and struggles of language preservation.

The workshop also focused on encouraging Native youth to pursue careers in TV, film, and new multimedia. During our program, Spokane Native youth toured Gonzaga University’s Broadcast & Electronic Media Studies and KSPS-PBS in downtown Spokane, Washington! The purpose of these education tours was to expose them to viable career goals, encourage them to pursue higher education and apply for studio internships that provide experience and salary.

At the end of the program,  Native youth from the Spokane Indian Reservation presented their films from the weeklong workshop to the local community. Native actor Gil Birmingham attended the screening and congratulated the Spokane youth for their hard work!

The films produced in the workshops will be showcased at the 12th Annual LA SKINS FEST film festival in November at the Chinese Theater. Spokane Native youth will be invited to participate in the  2018 NATIVE YOUTH MULTIMEDIA WEEKEND program held Thursday November 15th – Sunday November 18th, 2018 in Hollywood, CA.

Thank you Paramount Pictures and the Spokane Indian Reservation for supporting Native youth in media!

About the Program:
The NATIVE YOUTH FILM WORKSHOP is a week long youth filmmaking program designed to teach acting, writing, directing, camera operation, and video editing. It is intended to teach youth how to produce digital videos that have a logical story line and a professional appearance. The workshop ends with a community screening on the final day at a local venue.

Every year since 2009, the NATIVE YOUTH MULTI-MEDIA WORKSHOP has travelled to reservations throughout North America and Indigenous communities throughout the world to teach youth multimedia skills.

The films produced in the workshop will also be shown in November 2018 at the 12th Annual LA SKINS FEST. This is a prestigious film festival in Los Angeles sponsored by NBCUniversal, ABC/DISNEY, CBS and FOX Entertainment Group. These screenings encourage the participating youth to pursue their new found talents. In November, as part of the film festival, there will also be a scheduled tour of a television network or movie studio. This tour is designed to offer career opportunities to
Native youth in the filed of multimedia.

In partnership with: