City Voices City Visions (CVCV) is a University at Buffalo and Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) partnership (funded in part by the John R. Oishei Foundation), which “aims to bring digital video composing to students inside classrooms as a powerful tool for learning,” explains Director Suzanne Miller. The results of using this powerful tool in BPS classrooms over the last eight years will be on display this Thursday at the Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre at the City Voices City Visions Film Festival.
CVCV gives teachers the professional skills to integrate and develop digital video composition projects into their lesson plans, who then use these composition projects to engage students in exploring difficult concepts and ideas in the standard curriculum. “By creating focused visual/narrative/audio DV productions, students learn to interpret and analyze texts that they read,” Miller said. “Students apply these skills not only in English and reading, but also in social studies, science and technology classes. Digital video production combines the powerful tool of visualization with oral narration and music, and thus provides a three-in-one mediational tool for achieving challenging learning standards.” Some 180 teachers across 23 Buffalo schools have already collaborated with CVCV in bringing this tool to city students.
For the first time in the program’s history, the public will be able to appreciate what some of their future citizens and leaders have been achieving at school. Fourteen short films will be screened, of which “two [short films] will be part of a brief history of the project—to show the kinds of films students have created over the past 8 years of the project—including the poignant Wings of Hope, a thank you from McKinley High School students to the 9/11 ground workers,” explained Miller. The remaining 12 films have been chosen by the CVCV judges, from this year’s grade 7-12 students, which will compete for a number of awards to be announced at the event. Three grand prize awards will be given: Best Middle Grades Video, Best High School Video Grades 9-10, and Best High School Video Grades 11-12.
The festival starts at 5:00 PM on Thursday, June 5, with a reception in the lobby of the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center. After which, the films will screen, and at the very end, there will be a drawing for a new digital video camera. Best of all, the event is free!
Visit www.CityVoicesCityVisions.org for more information on CVCV, and mafac.org for more information on the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center.
Market Arcade Film and Arts Center Thursday, June 5 @ 5PM