MediaBridge

MediaBridge offers youth ages 15-19 the opportunity to work collaboratively with other teens from around the world, exploring film as they never have before. This intensive, 5-week film immersion features a college-level screenwriting workshop and trains youth as curators and programmers of a youth film festival.

MediaBridge participants are from a broad range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Along with our participants from Chicago and downstate & western Illinois, MediaBridge welcomes teens from around the world. The first 3 years of the program MediaBridge has welcomed youth from Czech Republic, Israel, Spain, Taiwan (R.O.C.), England, Mexico, China, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Puerto Rico, India, Slovenia, Serbia, South Korea, Portugal, Russia.

MediaBridge dates: early July through mid-August
Program Cost: $6000 Full & partial scholarships are competitive. Applicants must demonstrate financial need.
Download the MediaBridge Application
Download the MediaBridge Tuition Waiver Application
Application Deadline: April 30. This includes: the MediaBridge Application, two (2) letters of recommendation, and the Tuition Waiver Application.

MediaBridge participants are immersed in a world of cinema, viewing dozens of films from around the world and expanding their knowledge of world cinema, film aesthetics & cinema made for young adults.

MediaBridge accomplishes this in several ways, including:

MediaBridge Youth Fest - Participants view, evaluate, and curate the MediaBridge Youth Film Festival, taking place in August, at the end of the program. The public film festival will feature the best in contemporary cinema for youth and young adults from around the world, as well as a special "Open Screen" for youth-produced work. The MediaBridge group will be responsible for selecting films, programming the festival and awarding prizes.
MediaBridge Treatment Development - This intensive, college-level screenwriting workshop includes the development of a short film idea into a treatment and into a first draft screenplay.
MediaBridge Screenwriters Workshop & Lab - Participants get the unique experience of having their screenplay drafts critiqued by industry professional "Creative Advisors". Past Advisors for MediaBridge have included: screenwriter/producer/director Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters), TV writer/producer Gary Sherman (Poltergeist III; Buried Alive), Second City co-founder Bernie Sahlins, author Sharee Pemberton, and regional Emmy winner Joe Fatheree (2006-2007 Illinois Teacher of the Year). As part of this exciting phase of the MediaBridge program, students also get the chance to rewrite their screenplays & have a scene from their film acted out by professional actors. In 2007 MediaBridge worked with actors from the Lookingglass Theatre.
MediaBridge Cultural Immersion - Participants in the program work and socalize together for the 5 weeks of the program. Taking advantage of all the city has to offer from tourist attractions and shopping to cultural events, participants also screen & discuss their favorite films while sharing their unique perspectives on media & contemporary issues facing young adults today.

"Training young filmmakers in a potent multicultural atmosphere, we hope to create an evolving collaboration between the U.S. and other countries now and in the future," says Program Director, Nicole Dreiske.

Are you ready for the challenge? Join us, for a rewarding summer at MediaBridge! For questions or additional information, please contact "Kidsfest" at 1-773-281-9075 or kidsfest@facets.org