The Caribbean Youth Film Festival 2016 is set on making a difference among the youth.

Established through the Rise Film Festival, the Saint Lucian-based Caribbean Youth Film Festival is unique and innovative. Having employed as its mechanism a strategic module of teaching the art of film and television to youth, one of the festivals main objectives is the building of uniquely holistic and productive citizens.

Festival Director Colin Weekes said that at its core, the festival’s main aim is the development of the youth.

“Basically the festival was developed to encourage young people to get into filmmaking and use it as a medium to express themselves. From there, we aim to educate them in all various facets of filmmaking, and in the process create well-rounded citizens because we teach them a lot more than just film making but also how to interact with each other, work in groups, and to be punctual—all the facets that good filmmaking necessitates,” he said.

A range of workshops collectively lead to a comprehensive understanding of the art form.

“We actually do have workshops for persons who are interested in [filmmaking]," Weekes continued. "It teaches about the different processes and can strengthen a person's knowledge in areas where they might be weaker. Filmmaking has such a wide variety of skills: from writing, to technical skills, to accounting to marketing, so we incorporate all of that into our workshop."

The initiative, now in its fourth year, is being undertaken through the Ministry of Education alongside the Ministry of Youth and Sports, in order to expedite the summer program.

An awards ceremony, scheduled for August 20, will be held at the conclusion of the program. The deadline to submit films is August 10th. All budding film makers who would like to participate in the program are asked to contact Mr. Weekes at cweekes@doveprostlucia.com