Reel Stories College and Career Readiness Roundtables

Emerging filmmakers connect with working professionals, festival programmers, and university reps in small-group roundtable conversations. The RS College and Career Readiness Roundtables brings together Reel Stories students, alumni, and community members with working filmmakers, festival programmers, broadcasters, and university representatives for small-group, roundtable-style conversations about pathways into the industry and higher education. Instead of a single panel talking at attendees, participants rotate through roundtables to ask questions, get feedback on their own work or plans, and hear directly from people who've navigated the paths they're considering - whether that's film school, a filmmaking collective, festival programming, or working professionally in mediamaking. The goal is to demystify next steps for young and emerging filmmakers, especially those without industry connections or a clear sense of what college or career pathways look like in this field, and give Reel Stories community members a chance to build real relationships with people and organizations they can stay connected to. How the evening works • First hour: College-focused roundtables with university and program representatives. • Break: 20-30 minutes. • Second hour: Industry-focused roundtables with filmmakers, festival programmers, and collectives. Who it's for This event is open to women/girls, gender-expansive folks, and queer people ages 16 and up who identify as emerging filmmakers. Why it matters When women and gender-expansive people are better represented behind the scenes in the media, they will be better reflected on the screen. This event is one more way we're building the relationships and roadmaps that get Reel Stories student's there. Applying Before the event, we'll send a link where you can submit any materials you'd like reviewed. It could be a portfolio for college applications, a website, a resume, a work sample, or a list of questions. More details on material qualifications will be included in that survey. Submitting materials is for feedback reviewed in community at the roundtable. Cost: Tickets are $15. No one is turned away due to lack of funds. Please reach out to [email protected] to request a fee waiver if needed.