By Esteban Fernandez
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — A Washington D.C.-based film festival is trying to foster new voices in film from West Virginia, coinciding with the state’s own efforts to expand its film industry.
Dierdre Evans-Pritchard, executive director of the D.C. Independent Film Forum, said the moving image will possibly be the major language in 10 or 20 years.
“People should be showing their experiences from wherever they come from, and rural voices are essential,” Evans-Pritchard said. “They are a good balance to some of the things we see on TV now, which frequently is too urban. I think young filmmakers should not worry about that fact that it doesn’t look like something made in New York. That’s not the point. They should make something that expresses who they are and where they come from.”
The forum launched a new digital platform last month, designed for teen filmmakers to connect, learn and create together. The centerpiece of the program, called Y-CAM.org, is a High School Film Festival scheduled for March 13-15, in the nation’s capital. Evans-Pritchard said the submission window for the High School Film Festival runs through Dec. 31, and submissions can be done through Y-CAM.org.
The DCIFF is also putting money directly into funding emerging talent.
“If you have an idea or have a group of people and want to go out and make a film, whether that be a class project, or you want to do a little documentary about the store on the corner, or you are really a good artist trying your hand at animation, we also have this production grant for $600 at a time,” Evans-Pritchard said. “It’s designed to help people move forward, because sometimes there’s a little financial issue.”
Evans-Pritchard said the new hub built for teen filmmakers, Y-CAM, connects youth with resources to help them throughout the production process, such as where to find cameras, casting calls, or even if any film or TV projects are looking for high school interns to come and sit in on production.
Evans-Pritchard said West Virginia is often left out of the filmmaking conversation, people are usually under the assumption that there isn’t much filmmaking going on in the state. She said there’s no reason why anyone shouldn’t make a film in the state, or why Mountaineers shouldn’t thrive as filmmakers. She said the field has undergone a wave of democratization, as technology has evolved and gotten cheaper, the barrier to entry for new filmmakers is as surmountable as ever.
The state also has a vested interest in fostering the next generation of filmmakers. David Lavender, Apprenticeship Program coordinator, said the state’s focus on growing its film industry is part of its efforts to diversify its economy. Moreover, it wants to let young people who have traditionally been discouraged from pursuing the arts, know that the arts are a viable career path here. There’s also been some prominent mountaineers who have gone on to hold major roles in Hollywood, from Gillian Howe, who is animation supervisor for Walt Disney, to Joe Strechay, associate producer on All the Light We Cannot See and prominent consultant for the representation of blind and low vision individuals in film.
“When you foster the next generation, you also start creating commerce,” Lavender said. “We know that the strength of West Virginia is in small business. We want to create and foster and grow more small businesses related to the creative economy, because there’s plenty of money to be had out there.”
Since the film tax credit was introduced three years ago, Lavender said the state’s film industry has really expanded. The West Virginia Film Office has helped over 100 productions a year, he said, most of which are small independent projects but the share of major TV and film projects is growing. The reboot pilot for the Fox series “Prison Break” was recently shot in Wheeling, and productions for AMC and Netflix have also been made in the state.
The number of film festivals in the state has also grown, Lavender said, with the Foxfire Festival in Wheeling being the major one that promotes student film. The festival’s first year prize was $5,000 for student films. There’s also several 72-hour film sprints which are really student centered, and the Huntington Music and Arts Festival showcases a 72-hour film fest that’s in its 12th year. The West Virginia Film Office has half a dozen filmmaking and creative meet-ups for people of all ages that young filmmakers have really responded to.
Evans-Pritchard said DCIFF’s goal has been to reach out to young people who want to be filmmakers, but don’t know how to get into the field. They want to open a world of possibilities to these aspiring creatives. By introducing them to a community of young people doing the same thing, Evans-Pritchard hopes young creatives feel like they’re not doing it alone.
Lavender said in a world that’s increasingly AI and plastic, storytelling has only become more important. And it’s not something foreign to mountaineers.
“Storytelling has always been our secret sauce and our superpower,” he said. “We need to be able to tell our own stories, stories that are uniquely West Virginian and Appalachian. We think, telling stories is like giving people air, giving them oxygen.”
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