The Northwest Institute for Social Change is hosting a course in Oregon and is currently taking submissions for the student sustainability film festival.

Learn to make documentaries that make a difference–

Each summer, the Media Institute for Social Change hosts a dozen college students and teaches them to produce engaging and effective radio and film documentaries. Students come from across the country, from schools like Princeton, St. Olaf, Colby, Macalester, Whitman, and Reed, to name just a few. All currently-enrolled undergraduate students are eligible, including current, about-to-graduate seniors.

The program runs eight weeks–Friday, June 27 through Wednesday, August 13, 2014–and is hosted in Oregon. The city of Portland is a young, vibrant, and progressive city which serves as a hands-on laboratory for students to produce documentaries about “local solutions to global issues”–whether that means a radio program about local food production, or a video documentary about providing mental health services to returning soldiers.

The program is a mix of classroom academics and a hands-on production house. It is a potent recipe that helps students mature their passions into practical job skills–and in the process, produce a series of professional-quality radio and video documentaries.

NIFSC works with award-winning filmmakers, radio personalities, and local politicos to teach how media projects can effectively bring about positive social change.

Tuition for the program costs $1750. A limited number of scholarships is available to help pay for travel and living expenses. The Media Institute wants to make certain that there are no financial barriers to attendance. All attending students are eligible for home stays. Academic credit can be arranged through Portland State University.

For more information and for an application, please visit MediaMakingChange.org.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with first priority given to students who apply by April 15, 2014. Applications and more information available at MediaMakingChange.org.

Accepting submissions for this year’s Student Sustainability Film Festival

The 2014 Student Sustainability Film Festival is now encouraging and accepting entries from high school and college students across North America. Students create short films about programs and projects that their campus or community is doing to create sustainable solutions to environmental concerns.

The winning film will receive a $1,000 cash prize and top-ranked submissions will be submitted to our partner, Green Living Project, for a chance to win prize packages up to $1,000 in value. The deadline to submit a film for this year’s festival is May 17, 2014.
For more information, including submission guidelines, visit MediaMakingChange.org.