National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY)

            NFFTY, the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, has been a snowballing success since its advent in 2007.  Created by Jesse Harris, Jocelyn R.C., and Kyle Seago, NFFTY began as a one-night festival into an annual artistic masterpiece that holds the title of the largest youth film festival in the world.  In 2012, the festival ran from April 26^th to April 29^th, and was host to 222 films from 30 different states and 20 different countries.  Over 200 filmmakers, accompanied by 10,000 guests and film enthusiasts were in attendance.  The party kicked off on the night of April 26^th with an opening ceremony and premier at Seattle's Cinerama Theater, followed by a gala held at the waterfront aquarium.  Six short films were premiered the first night, which impressed upon many unsuspecting guests the level of creativity and ingenuity the young film visionaries possessed.  All of the films shown were conceptualized, written, directed, and captured by individuals 22 years old or younger.
            After the festivities of the opening ceremonies had concluded, conversation with various attendees quickly made apparent the admiration and, possibly, disbelief, of the quality of the artistry of the films.  One of the six movies that premiered on April 26^th, titled En Route, struck the audience with an introductory scene containing a massive plane crash.  Metal debris, twisted and mangled, littered a blackened, scorched field on which fires blazed.  An ambulance pulled up and a lone paramedic stared in horror at the tragedy.  This scene, created using computer generated images, easily rivaled the graphic quality of many multi-million dollar box office movies.  More incredibly still, En Route was created on a Spartan budget of three-thousand dollars.  NFFTY hosted a wide spread of categories, from horror to animation, music videos, and everything in between. 

            While 2012 was NFFTY's sixth year running, it was the inaugural year for the Future Film Expo, hosted at the Seattle Center, where colleges, sponsors, and personalities from all walks of the film world attended to participate in workshops and discussion panels.

            This year, the largest festival to date, sponsors such as Bing, XBOX, and Expedia made the exceptional experience possible.  The National Film Festival for Talented Youth is a non-profit organization and relies on the donations of corporations and individuals to continue running and providing workshops and other services for young filmmakers everywhere.

            The festival's motto, “Film starts here”, without a doubt sums it up.  It is a phenomenal experience to attend, and the very future of our film industry is rooted in the brilliant young minds that present their films.  Your donations, large or small, are instrumental in the continuation of this event, so please, film fans everywhere, donate to help the NFFTY legacy continue.  No amount is too little, and every little bit helps.  You can donate here: http://www.nffty.org/donate

            Witness part of the experience with the videos below:

            “Designed Around You” 2012 Volvo Short Film winning entry: http://www.nffty.org/nffty-updates/watch-2012-volvo-short-film-contest-winner

            Winning entry for Best Music video: LA by Tim Hendrix http://vimeo.com/38096445

            Festival Recaps day by day: http://www.nffty.org/festival-highlights/watch-nffty-2012-daily-recap-videos

            Once again, donations keep the incredible NFFTY experience alive:  http://www.nffty.org/donate