DocuMentorMe
This 12-week free program is meant to engage underrepresented members of our community with an opportunity to explore the creative art of storytelling through documentary media production. We hope to empower the stories and experiences of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), traditionally underrepresented community members, and low-income or working-class residents of San José and Santa Clara County.
Participants will be encouraged to research an issue of personal and community relevance, receive mentoring through the process of documentary filmmaking, and will leave the program will a fully produced short documentary about their chosen topic.
Each participant will have access to our professional community media team and resources. This will include the production equipment, technical training, and mentoring needed to develop artistic and media-making skills so they might bring the spirit of innovation and empowerment home to their communities. Additionally, all participants will receive a small monetary stipend for their time and a free one-year membership to CreaTV San José.
2023
2022
2021
2020
Summer Documentary Institute (SDI)
Our Summer Documentary Institute provides meaningful opportunities for youth in our community who are looking for a summer work opportunity!
This exciting 6-week program provides documentary production and technology training, and leadership development, at no cost, for 10 underrepresented youth in San José, ages 14-18. The Summer Documentary Institute encourages positive self-expression and social change through media making while inviting youth to explore technology-based careers. Participants will lead the program by choosing three to four community topics that they wish to explore and divide into small groups. Each group will produce a 5-7 minute mini-documentary and the final projects will be debuted at a public screening at CreaTV, with a Q&A with the filmmakers.
The Summer Documentary Institute encourages participants to use this opportunity to tell the stories that are important to their lives through the creation of powerful documentaries. They will be fully immersed into the documentary production process from creating scripts and storyboards to capturing their stories using state-of-the-art equipment and editing tools. Our program will be led by our experienced Community Media staff, summer youth intern leaders, and volunteers. Participants discover how documentaries can raise awareness of issues and advocate for social change.
To extend the learning and continue the program participants’ journey of positive self-expression, increase in technology competence, and advocacy for issues that are important to them, CreaTV will provide them with a one-year free membership and an equipment use stipend of $500 for their next project per CreaTV’s noncommercial, nonprofit policies.
The Summer Documentary Institute is a program in partnership with San José Works. Job coaches are in direct contact with East Side Union High School District students who qualify to participate in the program. Any inquiries can be sent to Ruby at rubycarrasco@sanjoseca.gov.
This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.