Youth FX

Youth FX primarily works with young people of color who reside in the South End, Arbor Hill and West Hill neighborhoods of Albany, NY, areas that have been historically under served and in need of meaningful opportunities for training and engagement in new digital media technology. The skills they learn not only enable them to be more creative and express their ideas, but they are also valuable skills that are in high demand in today’s technology based world. Youth FX participants engage in their communities by creating documentary and short fiction films that reflect their understanding and vision of the world around them as well as their. imagined futures.

Focusing on visual storytelling, artistic expression and performance, Youth FX students create digital video projects in various genres, including documentary, narrative short fiction and experimental. Working with experienced media instructors, filmmakers and artists, participants learn the various aspects of digital video production such as cinematography, editing, screenwriting, producing, directing, acting, scoring, sound, and lighting.

For some, our program is a fun way to be creative with their peers, and for others it is an introduction and immersion into a potential career path. Films produced by our current and former students and staff have won awards and. screened at major film festivals including:
BlackStar Film Festival, TribeCa Film Festival,
Sundance Film Festival, Los Angeles Film
Festival, San Francisco Film Festival,
Harlem International Film Festival,
Woodstock Film Festival
and Chicago International Film Festival.

Over the past 3 years we have also developed new programs such as NeXt Doc and the PA Institute to support diverse, emerging filmmakers ages 20-24 as they transition into the field of independent film.

Our programs include hands-on technical, creative and artistic workshops, film screenings, youth gatherings, analysis of film theory an history and presenting filmmakers from around the country. Some filmmakers and actors who have done workshops at Youth FX & NeXt Doc include: Lyric Cabral (Terror), Sam Pollard (4 Little Girls, Style Wars), Nijla Mu’min (Jinn, Queen Sugar), Khalik Allah (Black Mother), Miles Joris-Peyrafitte (As You Are), Raul Castillo (We The Animals), Sabaah Folayan (Whose Streets?), Bing Liu (Minding The Gap), Rosa Clemente (PR On The Map), Rabab Haj Yahya (Feeling of Being Watched), Stephen Rickert (editor, Solo: A Star Wars Story), and Iva Radivojevic (Evaporating Borders).