GET LIT! WORDS IGNITE
Our grant for $23,024 funds new equipment to create an editing lab to supplement the filmmaking equipment for Get Lit Media, filmmaking education program. Get Lit, Words Ignite fuses classic and spoken word poetry to increase teen literacy on the page and in visual media. The poetry and film curriculum engage young people by providing a creative outlet, community, and real-life work experience, transforming students into activists, scholars and stars. Approximately 150 student filmmakers, ages 13-23, 75% of whom live in underserved communities, participate in the poetry curriculum after-school, weekends and throughout the summer. Students will take their skills to the next level by learning how to edit the many hours of film the youth have produced. Many of these students apply to film school or seek employment in the field. The new equipment gives them access they otherwise would not have to create portfolios needed to apply to school and access to work on industry standard equipment needed for employment.