The Santa Clarita Valley Media Collaborative invites the public as well as local creatives, media industry professionals, students, parents, teachers and others to celebrate the next generation of media makers participating in the inaugural NextGen MediaMakers Festival on Saturday, May 18 from 2-5 p.m. at the Canyon Country Community Center.

The NextGen MediaMakers Festival is both a competition for local Santa Clarita Valley junior high and high school students as well as providing an opportunity for them to network, connect, find mentorship and celebrate creativity.

“We know there are so many talented young media makers in the Santa Clarita Valley,” said SCVTV Executive Director Jessica Boyer. “We want to give these creators a showcase for their work.”

Sponsors of the NextGen MediaMakers Festival include the city of Santa Clarita, Student Television Network, California Institute of the Arts Extended Studies, IASTE Local 695, IASTE Local 44, Canon USA, KHTS AM 1220 & FM, Santa Clarita Magazine, The Signal, Backstage, Filmcraft, G Media Insurance, William S. Hart Union High School District and Quixote.

Additional sponsorships, including student award sponsors, are still being sought. More information can be found here.

All are invited to attend the NextGen MediaMakers Festival! The event will feature a “Munch & Mentor Mixer” from 2-4 p.m. and an awards ceremony hosted by SCVTV’s Community Corner hosts Dave Caldwell and Carrie Lujan from 4-5 p.m. at the Canyon Country Community Center.

Awards will be presented for first, second and third place.

Registration for the event is required and can be found here.

This year’s judges include: Former CNN Anchor and BzSpotlight host Bella Shaw, Producer Heather Duncan, SchlickArt Co-Owner Brian Schlick, Scriptz CEO Patrick Rowan, College of the Canyons Marketing and ABC7 Newsroom’s Matt Robinson, Carma Owner and CEO Michael Carr, Arcay Studios Founder and President Koren Young, Rassool Racing Media Youtube Specialist Joey Rassool, Fox Racing Video Editor Carlos Cortes, Luce Change Inc. President David Luce, Associate Producer/VFX Producer/Post Production Supervisor Armen Fetulagian, FOX26 KMPH News Reporter Sophia Lesseos, PXL Managing Partner Ryan Villiers, San Bernardino County Multimedia Production Specialist II Megan Perez, Writer/Editor/Scriptwriter/Producer Jim Walker, Ascension Media CEO and Director Harvey Lowry, Grady Communication Strategies Consultant Mary Grady, Freelance Executive Producer Bruce Klassen, Pro8mm Owner/Founding Partner Rhonda Vigeant.

The SCV Media Collaborative and NextGen MediaMakers Festival are a service of SCVTV, a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

The mission of the NextGen MediaMakers Festival is to provide a competitive outlet for local students while creating a community around local professionals, businesses and other organizations who are involved in the Santa Clarita Valley media industry. The NextGen MediaMakers Festival aims to establish a support system and network for media professionals, businesses, and other organizations; and provide resources, events, classes and workshops to create a shared knowledge database for all involved.

the inaugural NextGen MediaMakers Festival offered two categories of film submissions open to all SCV junior high and high school students: Silent Film and Short Film. An additional three categories were open to students participating in school media classes: Feature Story, Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and Broadcast Show.

The 2024 NextGen MediaMakers Festival Committee includes media and education professionals as well as local nonprofit leaders.

For more information about the festival visit nextgenmediafest.org, contact info@nextgenmediafest.org or call (661) 251-8820.