Youth Education & Outreach

Teen Short Film Competition

Our annual Teen Short Film Competition celebrates the art of film and the work of young filmmakers. Students (ages 12-18) are invited to submit their shorts for competition. Youth judges screen and select the top films, culminating in an energetic Academy-Awards style night announcing winners during our annual festival weekend where they come together to inspire us and each other.

Read on to learn more about the Youth Programs at BIFF 2025 – Short Film Competition and Awards, Workshops, and Free Screenings.

Competition & Awards Ceremony

Friday, March 14, 2025

The new generation of teen filmmakers has a cinematic pulse on the modern world. This year’s short films explore different perspectives of teenagers around the globe. Venture into experimental worlds, dramatic scenes, and investigative realms with thrills, chills, laughs, and gaffes. Plus animation! Join us for a fun-filled evening at our Teen Short Film Competition & Awards night to celebrate these youth artists and this year’s short film nominees and winners.

-Live music performed by local teens

-Food from Savory Catering

-Ages 12+; All attendees must register in advance

-Doors 5:30pm for music/food

-Program begins at 6:30pm

–Register HERE

Workshops

Saturday, March 15, 2025

BIFF offers three workshops from the following award-winning filmmakers offering a complete look at filmmaking — from developing an impactful story, to how to produce it, and finally how to watch the final product. Take all three 90-minute workshops and learn filmmaking from start to finish!

Workshops are free for students 21 and under, or $25 for all others.

Learn more and register here.

FREE Film Screenings

March 14 - 15, 2025

This year, BIFF is offering three FREE film screenings to students age 21 and below!

Speak. on Friday, March 14 at 5:00pm at First United Methodist Church

Champions of the Golden Valley on Friday, March 14 at 7:30pm at Grace Commons Church

The Flight of Bryan on Saturday, March 15 at 5:15pm at Grace Commons Church

Learn more and register here

Watch the 2024 Winners

Teen Short Film Competition

Our annual Teen Short Film Competition celebrates the short film. Students (ages 12-18) are invited to submit their shorts for competition. Youth judges screen and decide top films, culminating in an energetic Academy-Awards style night announcing winners during our annual festival weekend where they come together to inspire us and each other. Watch the 2024 winners.
We believe that the study of film theory and production is no small act. It has big returns–blockbusting, inspiring effects for ethical, political and social change.

BIFF’s Education Outreach Program is committed to enlivening the study of film so students become media literate, critical thinkers and mavericks in the art of making and appreciating film.

Our goal is to connect students with filmmakers, resources and opportunities to elevate different voices and points of view and inspire the next, most educated, empathetic generation of artists, enthusiasts and critics.

2024 Winners

Cinema 2 Schools

Through our program, filmmakers from around the globe immerse themselves in school settings, panel discussions and interactive Q&A sessions to screen their films, discuss filmmaking careers, techniques, advice and knowledge to students in the classroom.

Festival Volunteering

Students are invited to immerse themselves in the celebration of the festival weekend, as well as the beyond-the-scenes elements that go into producing an artistic, technical and public media experience.

Cinema 2 Schools

Festival Volunteering

“The question of educating the public to a better, more critical appreciation of the films is a question of the mental health of nations.”

–Bela Balazs, THEORY OF FILM

Film is a collaborative art with a language we can learn and apply to both create and appreciate movies. There are layers of explicit and implicit meaning conveyed in scene, set and story. Through technical innovation and imagination, worlds become created, communicated and culturally braided.

We believe that the study of film theory and production is no small act. It has big returns–blockbusting, inspiring effects for ethical, political and social change.

BIFF’s Education Outreach Program is committed to enlivening the study of film so students become media literate, critical thinkers and mavericks in the art of making and appreciating film.