NFFTY - National Film Festival For Talented Youth

NFFTY seeks to support, encourage and acknowledge emerging media artists from all backgrounds, and bring their diverse voices and the arts to a broader audience. We seek to promote their accomplishments through festivals and programs and celebrating the extraordinary talent that exists and the compelling stories that they tell. We seek to address marked needs in education and networking for young artists and expand opportunities for promotion of their work to a larger audience. NFFTY has grown in just a few years from an idea of 3 teenagers to an organization that reaches an ever-growing number of young artists and potential audiences in the millions through our Seattle-based programs and distribution partnerships. NFFTY (National Film Festival for Talented Youth) and its non-profit parent organization, The Talented Youth, were founded by Jesse Harris, Jocelyn R.C., and Kyle Seago in 2007. Harris wrote and directed the feature film ?Living Life? when he was 17, obtaining distribution for the film shortly after his graduation from high school. His success resulted in young filmmakers around the globe seeking his advice, including R.C., who expressed interest in helping to form a socially responsible youth arts organization. Harris and R.C. teamed up with Seago, establishing the non-profit and holding a one-night ?Kick Off? festival April 26, 2007. This festival has grown into one of the premier festivals for up-and-coming directors. Its most recent festival featured 248 films from 25 countries and 30 states, with audience attendance at 12,000 for the duration of the festival.

NFFTY's annual festival is the primary event, held each spring in Seattle. NFFTY is the world?s largest and most influential film festival for emerging directors, helping to discover the best new directors age 24 and under. Their work is showcased to thousands of film lovers, industry members and fellow filmmakers. Additionally, we offer year-round programmatic activities to support young, emerging media artists. Their relationship with NFFTY will provide them with the tools and opportunities to grow, network and learn. In turn, these artists will enter the media industry confident, connected and ready to create exceptional media.