Almost all of us, it’s safe to say, are raised in part by the movies we watched growing up, with cinema shaping our worldviews and sense of selfhood. As the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s new education director, former high school filmmaking teacher Amanda Graves oversees what kinds of movies and messages young viewers will take in, aiding in providing programming that is family friendly and educational. What’s more, through mentorships and film studies programs, she’s also helping inspire the next generation of filmmakers.
What educational programs are you most excited about this year? All of our educational programs are exciting and unique. For Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies, we will be welcoming 4,000 4th through 6th grade students from across Santa Barbara County to watch Zootopia, who get to hear from the film’s directors, Rich Moore and Byron Howard. I am excited to see how many families will be positively impacted through AppleBox Family Films, which provides the opportunity for families to share the experience of seeing a movie together for free. I am also eagerly anticipating seeing the Film Studies Program in action: 29 students from across the country will have access to seminars, panels, private screenings, and celebrity tributes. Many of the students selected have not had access to film festivals previously, and this will be an invaluable experience. Finally, I am thrilled to see the 10-10-10 mentorship and competition during the festival … it is a brilliant idea and one of the programs I am most interested in.
What made Zootopia a good pick for this year’s Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies? Zootopia’s message is against bullying and stereotyping while it promotes inclusiveness and equality, and it presents these important themes in a way that is accessible for children. Many teachers have creatively integrated the themes from the film into their lesson plans as a basis for teaching critical thinking. We provided participating teachers with a Zootopia study guide to use with their students, and visited [county elementary schools] with industry professionals, who spoke to the students and engaged them through hands-on filmmaking demonstrations. Nearly 700 students cumulatively attended the presentations, and it was heartwarming to see how inspired and excited they were.