Youth Programs & Film Workshops
Northwest Film Forum has year-round filmmaking workshops and summer camps dedicated to helping youth and young adults learn all aspects of film production.
Youth Programs Year Round at Northwest Film Forum
We offer a variety of workshops during the school year and a full program of summer camps. Many programs are done in partnership with local organizations. The 2023 summer filmmaking camps for youth were held between July 10 and August 11.
During Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2024 (Feb. 2–10), we’ll tap into the timeless magic of shadow puppetry, dig into the surprises of cameraless animation, create an earful of foley, and craft fantastical prop cakes!
Watch behind-the-scenes documentaries from youth summer programs here (our youngest students), here (middle-schoolers), and here (our high-schoolers).
Upcoming Workshops & Events
Past Workshops
Below are some of Northwest Film Forum’s past and recurring workshops. See a workshop you’d like to see again? Please put in a request for future programming!
- Making the Impossible: Special Effects (Ages 11-14)
- DIY Filmmaking: Adventures in Animation (Ages 11-14)
- Imagination Animation (Ages 8-12)
- Reel Queer Youth (Ages 13-18)
- Reel Queer Youth [Hybrid] Summer Camp (2022)
- Summer Camp – Making the Impossible: Special Effects (Ages 11-14)
- Summer Camp – Imagination Animation Session 1 (Ages 8-12)
- Summer Camp – Imagination Animation Session 2 (Ages 8-12)
- Summer Camp – Community Storytelling [In-Person] Project
- Summer Camp – Magical Character Creation (Ages 11-14)
- CFFS 2022 – An Exploration of Shadow Puppetry [In-Person] Workshop
- CFFS 2022 – Ink & Tape: An All Ages Cameraless Film Workshop [Virtual + In-Person]
- CFFS 2022 – How to Make a Documentary: From Soup to Nuts w/ Sally Rubin [In-Person] Workshop
- CFFS 2022 – Creative Storytelling with Sockz Theater [ Online]
- In-Person Summer Camp – Making the Impossible: Special Effects
- Virtual Summer Camp – Imagination Animation (Ages 8-12) June
- Virtual Summer Camp – Imagination Animation (Ages 11-14) July
- Virtual Summer Camp – Making the Impossible: Special Effects (Ages 8-12)
- In-Person Summer Camp – Imagine Design and Build Camp at SeaTac Community Center
- Virtual Summer Camp – Reel Queer Youth
- Free Youth Edit Lab Hours
- Editing Workflows in Premiere (Winter Production Intensives)
- After Effects Essentials (Winter Production Intensives)
- Camera Operation and Techniques (Winter Production Intensives)
- Lighting for Film and Media (Winter Production Intensives)
- Sounds Good: Production Sound (Winter Production Intensives)
- Producing for Film and Media (Winter Production Intensives)
- Scriptwriting and Storyboarding (Winter Production Intensives)
- Takeaways — Foley Sound
- Takeaways — Animated Portraits
- Present Your Best Selfie!
- Reel Boyz Film Camp
- Imagination Animation
- Gender Representation Film Camp
- Indie Filmmaking Summer Camp
- Demystifying Film Festivals for Emerging Filmmakers
- Ready to Roll: Youth Filmmakers at Northwest Film Forum
- Takeaways: Trailer Editing
- Takeaways: Animating with Adobe After Effects
- Coyote Camp — Youth Filmmaking
- Cadence 2019 — Making Video Poetry
- Takeaways: Documentary Storytelling
- 360 Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes of the Festival
- Friendly Rhythms of the Planet (1/27) — with visiting filmmaker Tatiana Skorlupkina
- Friendly Rhythms of the Planet (1/26) — with visiting filmmaker Tatiana Skorlupkina
- Puppet Making with Clyde Peterson