It is exciting to be connected to Girls Film School, a College of Santa Fe program that takes place in the summer and is designed to introduce high school girls to media technology. Deborah Fort, assistant chair of the Moving Image Arts Department, directs the two week program. Wendy Chapin, one of the instructors in the Performing Arts Department, and Monique Anair teach with other professional women in the industry.

Robin Clark, a reporter for the Santa Fe New Mexican wrote on June 23, 200, "This year the 12 girls participating learned skills in filming, writing, editing, acting and interviewing. Yet one of their strongest benefits was the rise in their self-esteem and confidence. The self-portrait film required each young woman to find ways of expressing herself metaphorically and symbolically in front of the camera. Often they include images of their hands or feet, but they were encouraged to use other imagery." Haley Kidd, 16, a junior at Capital High School, used an apple. "You know how some people say their bark is louder than their bite or they're tough on the outside and soft on the inside?" she asks. "An apple is hard all the way through, and I just like that." Definitively, the young women provide food for thought in the ways that they see themselves and how they are portrayed to others.

Their work with film cameras forces them to think about how their pictures will edit together, how the different images will relate to one another and tell a larger story. And it provides a technical training. "Film is a wonderful mode of expression that incorporates every single aspect of you, of the world," Fort says. "There's sound and images You can work in an abstract way, and in a very literal, realist way. You can do documentary, you can do fiction. There are endless possibilities for creative expression."

Many of the participants live outside Santa Fe and must drive into town every day. Fort hopes to expand Girls Film School for 2001 into a larger program which will include dormitories. Each group has a mentor, giving them an opportunity to explore the film industry with a hands-on approach from many perspectives and job positions.
Adrianne McCurrach, one of the mentors and a College of Santa Fe student, says, "This school really opens the doors for a lot of young women coming out of high school They learn to work with each other, from different backgrounds, prejudices and even generations. At the center of our program is the artist aspiring to find her voice."

This exciting program teaches the amazing strength of a team creatively working in unison. It is through their films that gain a louder voice, and hopefully a better picture of who they can become.

The next session is scheduled for June 17-30, 2001. Please see what you can give: film resources, mentorship, donations, time or sponsorship. Contact Deborah Fort, director, at 1-800-456-2673 x6409 or visit www.girlsfilmschool.csf.edu.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------