Local Teen Filmmakers Collaborate With French Students

Nearly 15 years ago, filmmaker John Williams and his wife Stephanie Walter Williams were asked to lead a documentary filmmaking workshop for teens at the Prospect Park YMCA.

The program was a hit and so John and Stephanie decided to start Reel Works, a free after-school filmmaking program for teens.

“We realized filmmaking was a pathway to teach really important life skills. Film craft, storytelling, technology, creativity, leadership. The kind of skills that young people need to succeed,” says John. ” It’s a perfect medium to engage young people. They get so excited about it they don’t know they’re learning.”

And, he says, it made sense for Reel Works to start in this neighborhood. “Starting the organization in Park Slope we have been surrounded by talented people who cared about giving back,” says John.

Reel Works has had documentaries air on HBO and has been honored twice by the White House. The organization now has a weekly slot on NYC TV Life that’s produced by teens in the program.

But now, Reel Works hopes to take their program across the ocean this summer. The organization is collaborating with a similar Paris-based program called 1000 Visages to create a joint production. Five students from Brooklyn and five students from Paris will work together to create a film.

The students have met via Skype and over the next month will brainstorm ideas for the film. At the beginning of August the French students will spend a week in Brooklyn. And hopefully, at the end of August, the Brooklyn students will travel to Paris to finish the project there.

“Our kids come from all over Brooklyn, their stories are always personal,” says John. “And that will be the core of what they are doing when they collaborate with Parisian students.”

But in order to make it across the Atlantic Ocean, the students will have to raise money to pay for the travel costs. So they’ve set up a Kickstarter campaign to help make the trip happen.

John is confident that they will reach their fundraising goal. “Everything is a community effort and we hope our neighbors will help make this dream happen for these kids.”

To learn more about the Reel Works project and to donate to their effort, visit their Kickstarter page.