Cassie Nguyen, a pediatric brain cancer survivor, University of California-Riverside student and American Cancer Society ambassador and advocate, is also a Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship Honoree. She received a $10,000 scholarship to fund her unique public service project: Spotlight On Hope Film Camp, a free film camp for pediatric cancer patients.

Cassie knows better than most people the power of programs like Spotlight On Hope. At the inaugural camp last September, Cassie noticed the way the camp allowed the participants to escape for a little bit as they acted in the film and created an imaginative green screen world — their cancer treatments, ailments and struggles dissipated during the weekend as they focused on having fun through filmmaking.  

With 90 percent of the students from the first camp participating again this summer, the impact of this unique opportunity is clear — the participants and their families love it. Plus, the camp offers opportunities for growth as one returning camper joins this summer as an assistant film teacher.

Spotlight On Hope Film Camps are conducted by the Co-Founders of Think Ten Media Group, multi-award winning filmmakers Ramon Hamilton and Jennifer Fischer. With Think Ten, the duo have always focused on empowering others to create films in addition to making films themselves. Their latest film, SMUGGLED, is a a timely immigration film that tells the story of a 9 year-old boy and his mother being smuggled across the border. It has been featured by NBCLatino, ABC/Univision/Fusion, KTEP and various other media outlets and has screened at community organizations, university campuses and film festivals throughout the U.S. as well as globally.

Cassie’s connection to Think Ten and the creation of Spotlight On Hope grew out of her involvement with the Riverside International Film Festival in 2012, where SMUGGLED premiered and received its first of 5 awards. In addition to being a fan of their film, Cassie was interested in the film education programs of Think Ten. As she shared her personal experience with cancer with Jennifer and Ramon, the trio realized they could merge their passions, and Spotlight On Hope was born. 

Hamilton and Nguyen at the Riverside International Film Festival.

The inaugural Spotlight On Hope Film Camp took place last September with all of the funds for the camp being raised by Cassie herself through the sales of cancer awareness bracelets to friends, family and classmates. Seeing how much the camp meant to the participants and their families inspired Cassie to make sure the program could continue and her receipt of the Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship will guarantee that 10 camps will be held: two this summer and eight more during the academic 2014-2015 school year. 

Details for Spotlight on Hope Summer Film Camps

Who: Pediatric Cancer Patients primarily from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
What: Free Green Screen and Special FX Filmmaking Camp
Where: School of Theatre, Film and Television at UCLA (Room: TV3)
When: Session 1: July 12th-13th 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Session 2: July 19th-20th 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

[Media representatives are welcome to sit-in for part of the camp so that they can see the campers and instructors in action and can conduct interviews with instructors and, potentially, participants.]

Fischer and Hamilton with participants at the inaugural Spotlight On Hope Film Camp at UCLA. 

As with the pilot program, participants in Spotlight On Hope Film Camps have the opportunity to not only create their own green screen film, from script to screen, with the mentorship of professional filmmakers, but also get to do so at the prestigious UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, which generously hosts the camps. 

“Being at UCLA is exciting for the participants as they walk through a building whose walls are covered with movie posters of films made by UCLA Alums,” explains Fischer. “We want the experience to be special. Not only does being at UCLA do this, but focusing on green screen filmmaking does as well. The participants can create whatever they can imagine.”

Multi-Award Winning Filmmaker Ramon Hamilton has been teaching filmmaking to youth and adults for nearly ten years, most recently through Generation Arts, the digital arts education division of  Think Ten Media Group. Generation Arts programs include partnerships with LA’s BEST, the largest after-school care provider for LAUSD, the City of Santa Clarita and various Santa Clarita Valley school districts. 

For more information or to arrange to visit during the camp, please contact Jennifer Fischer directly at 661-295-1906 or 323-980-6347 or email her at jennifer@thinktenmediagroup.com. Jennifer also tweets about filmmaking, motherhood and Spotlight On Hope at @IndieJenFischer.