Showcasing tomorrow's talent
Arkansas PBS Emerging Filmmakers is a program for kindergarten through 12th-grade students, created to highlight the bright future of Arkansas's youngest filmmakers.
Upcoming Events
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival - October 23, 2024
This October, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and Arkansas PBS are hosting a series of FREE student programs that empower young filmmakers by providing them with valuable insights and practical training in the art and craft of documentary film.
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Student Screening
An exclusive student-only screening of "Ali Eats America" by filmmakers Greg Morris and Roush Niaghi. Ali Allouche was 17 years old when he was diagnosed with cancer. After months of treatment, chemotherapy and hospital food, cooking and travel documentaries became his gateway to the outside world. Inspired by his hero, Anthony Bourdain, Ali and his mom planned their culinary journey across the United States, an adventure waiting for him beyond his hospital walls.
BEST FOR: Middle, Junior and High School students
TIME: 9:00 a.m.
LOCATION: Crystal Ballroom
Arkansas PBS Emerging Filmmakers Program
Explore the use of filmmaking as a tool for examining the world, exploring history and expressing important issues. Student filmmakers are invited to participate in sessions that support the creation of purposeful media and the power of investigation and expression in digital storytelling. Filmmakers Greg Morris and Roush Niaghi from "Ali Eats America" will lead the workshop to explain the storytelling decisions they made while documenting Ali's journey.
BEST FOR: Middle, Junior and High School students
TIME: 11:15 a.m.
LOCATION: Crystal Ballroom
Brent Renaud Foundation Mentorship with Craig Renaud
Participate in a workshop intensive where working filmmakers will share their insights and practical advice on creating a sustainable career in filmmaking. Gain a deeper understanding of how filmmakers approach the art and craft of filmmaking. Students attending should be prepared to discuss their films, goals and project ideas. Peabody Award winner Craig Renaud will lead the program for the Brent Renaud Foundation.
BEST FOR: High School students and higher education
TIME: 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Arlington Hotel
Emerging Filmmakers
Enter your student film to be eligible for amazing opportunities to get your film screened beyond the classroom. What you submit is only limited to your creativity and imagination!
Awards and Prizes
The Arkansas Historic Places Student Film Prize sponsored by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and the Arkansas Humanities Council in partnership with Arkansas PBS honors documentaries made by high school students about a historic property that is at least fifty years old or older. Sites do not have to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, although they may be, but must be a building, archeological site, or other site with historic significance.
A prize will also be provided by Preserve Arkansas for winning films focusing on properties currently on the Most Endangered Places list.
- Students must be in grades 5-12
- Films must be 5 to 15 minutes in length.
- Films must be non-fiction.
- Formats include, but are not limited to, video, animation, stop-motion, and Claymation.
- Films must focus in some way on a historic site in the state of Arkansas that is 50 years old or older.
- Presentations in other forms, like PowerPoint, will not be accepted.
Rules and Guidelines
- Students must be a public, private or home school student in Arkansas.
- Formats and genres include, but are not limited to: narrative, documentary, music video and PSA.
- Presentations in other forms, like PowerPoint, will not be accepted.
- Films can be any length, with the exception of the "Arkansas Historic Places Student Film Prize."
- Submissions must be provided digitally via FilmFreeway. If you cannot deliver your film digitally please contact Casey Sanders at csanders@myarkansaspbs.org.
- Students must agree to the terms and conditions stated below.
- Students must adhere to the rules of each individual contest you are entering.
Terms and Conditions
Arkansas PBS reserves the right to flag and edit any program that has sensitive content. The flag categories are "sex," violence," and "language." There is an additional distinction between real and dramatic violence. Examples of flags include, but are not limited to, sexual situations, dramatic/real dead bodies, and offensive language.
Arkansas PBS may distribute the program in its entirety, including any and all titles and credits, at its discretion, or preempt its scheduled release for any reason.
The producer grants "Arkansas PBS Emerging Filmmakers" the non-exclusive rights to reproduce any part of the film and to exhibit the film by any medium for the purposes of broadcast/screening or its promotion. This includes its online distribution through the Arkansas PBS website and/or a third party, such as YouTube.
In addition the producer guarantees that he/she has obtained all the necessary permissions and clearances to enter this film and that the film and all of its elements and/or screening of the film does not infringe on the copyrights of any third party. Any claims made by any person or entity against the film, actors, crew, locations, or any other party are entirely the responsibility of the producer. The producer also assures guidelines specified on this page.