11.6.0126 Application
Florida Film Institute, Inc.

Applicant Information

Proposal Information

Mission Statement

The Florida Film Institute,(FFI) strives to provide a nurturing environment to teach the art, business, and science of filmmaking to children and young adults.Our programs in local schools and community centers provide an empowering hands-on experience for participants, offering them the opportunity to make their own films.

Proposal Summary: Goals

In accordance with Florida Film Institute's (FFI) Mission Statement, the project described in this grant proposal will achieve the following goals:

Teach children and young adults the art, business and science of filmmaking through programs designed to effectively reach a diverse group of students.

Provide students with cross-functional skills that will improve their opportunities for educational and career success.

Increase the self-esteem of participants through encouraging self-expression during the creative process and providing a viable career path out of poverty.

Proposal Summary: Objectives

Goal 1:
Hold the Cinematographers in Education and Media Arts (CINEMA) in-school program between October, 2010 – June, 2011.

Collaborate with City of Miami Mayor's Heart of the Parks to offer summer camp arts programming to disadvantaged students July, 2010 – August, 2010.

Collaborate with location on Miami Beach to provide CINEMA on Saturday mornings October, 2010 – April, 2011.

Goal 2:
Incorporate functional skills such as sound, lighting, marketing, directing, writing, cinematography, and acting into the curriculum.

Encourage team work and strategic planning during the filmmaking process.

Goal 3:
Encourage students to use the film shoot process as a creative outlet for self-expression.

Arrange screenings of finished student films to increase their self-esteem by seeing their work appreciated by an audience.

Proposal Summary: Activities

FFI will use the following methodology to achieve the Goals and Objectives of the program:

Goal 1:
Hire esteemed instructors in the various fields of filmmaking (July 2010).

Provide programming based on CINEMA for City of Miami-Mayor's Heart of the Parks summer camp three days per week plus one film shoot (FFI instructors and management).

Identify 6 area high schools to participate in weekly CINEMA in-school classes. Each session will last approximately 2 hours, once or twice weekly for 12-14 weeks. (FFI and MDCPS, September 2010).

Follow curriculum that has been developed and refined during the past 17 years of FFI's association with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, reaching over 4,900 students (Instructors, October 2010- June 2011).

Schedule one-day film shoots for each school. CINEMA's film shoot will either be a field trip or Saturday program (FFI, January 2011 - May 2011).

Goal 2:
Focus each session on a skill set including script writing, cinematography, acting on screen, lighting, directing, editing, sound, wardrobe, makeup and marketing (Instructors, October 2010 - May 2011).

Facilitate group decision making regarding script (Instructors, October 2010 - May 2011).

Facilitate group planning of various job roles (Instructors, October 2010 - May 2011).

Goal 3:
Arrange theater and/or cable television screenings of finished films (FFI Director, May and June 2011).

Enter finished films into local and national film festivals (FFI and students, ongoing).
Encourage students to participate in various film festivals open to student projects throughout the country(FFI and students, ongoing).

Mentor students for further study and career options (FFI, ongoing).

Narrative: Proposal Description

The Florida Film Institute (FFI) strives to provide a nurturing environment to teach the art, business, and science of filmmaking to children and young adults. Our programs in local schools and community centers provide an empowering hands-on experience for participants, offering them the opportunity to make their own films. We encourage them to explore the creative process of cinema as a means to increase their self-esteem.

FFI provides lessons in a structured, semester-long workshop format covering the following tracks: scriptwriting, directing, cinematography, acting, lighting, editing, and marketing. FFI's in-school program Cinematographers in Education and Media Arts (CINEMA) takes place at schools selected by the M-DCPS Board. We plan to participate in the City of Miami Mayor - Heart of the Park summer program for the fourth consecutive year in Summer 2010. Our popular Miami Children's Museum (MCM) film school has been cut due to MCM budget constraints, but we are in negotiations with the City of Miami Beach to offer CINERAMA Saturdays for participants at a location yet to be determined in Fall 2010.

Children and Youth who participate in FFI's programs fulfill all roles in the filmmaking process. They each write a short script, vote on and finalize the script; audition as actors to fill each role; provide makeup, costumes, sound effects, music, and sets; shoot the film with state of the art equipment; and participate in editing and in the artistic process, learning valuable skills that not only provide a means of artistic self-expression but also lead to a viable career path. Experience gained in our program can be applied to careers in filmmaking, television, theater, and media arts.

FFI strives to reach as many middle and high school students as possible in Miami-Dade County. Since its inception in 1992, FFI has mentored over 4,900 students. By providing our programs in the schools, we are able to reach students regardless of economic status or geographic location. All of our locations including film shoots and screenings are ADA accessible to encourage participation by students of all abilities. As the entire class works together as a team to complete the film, students of all capabilities may participate in whichever role best suits their interests and skills. In 2010-2011, we will continue to provide CINEMA to a total of six high schools. MDCPS chooses the schools on a rotating basis depending on each school's needs, facilities, arts programs, etc. CINEMA and the Heart of the Parks are offered free of charge to students.

CINEMA is in its 17th consecutive year. The program will run from October - January at three MDCPS high schools and from February - May at three additional high schools. The program provides 14 -16 two-hour long sessions within the school schedule and one Saturday film shoot. Schools are chosen by the MDCPS Board in August. Rounding out our year-long programming is the City of Miami Parks Heart of the Parks summer program. We provide an arts curriculum based on our CINEMA program free of charge to underserved youth at an inner city park selected by the City. Our free Saturday morning program on Miami Beach will allow students who do not attend one of the selected Miami-Dade Public Schools an opportunity to gain this valuable training in the film industry. In 2010, this program will be held on Miami Beach on Saturdays from October through April from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm and will incorporate all of the curriculum of the in-school program.

All programming is in direct support of our mission to serve the youth of Miami-Dade County with arts programming that provides a valuable skill set to achieve a path out of poverty.

Narrative: Culture Builds Florida's Future

1. Strengthening the Economy

   The program helps to strengthen the economy from a ground up level. As filmmaking has become an increasingly important economic component for South Florida, as evidenced by the $10,800,000 in funding provided by the Governor's Film In Florida office for industry incentives, it is increasingly important to also develop a core of skilled, trained individuals who may fill positions created by this job market. By providing training to some of the most disadvantaged youth in the community, FFI's programs provide the dual benefit of helping youth escape the poverty cycle of reliance on public assistance and training a local job force in a growing field. These employees will then be able to purchase real estate, spend locally, and become part of the improvements to the local economy.

2. Learning and Wellness

   FFI's program also promotes learning. This program offers an impressive educational course in and of itself, based on a comprehensive curriculum developed over 17 years. The semester-long course encourages literacy by having each student write a screenplay. Students are also involved in the technical aspects of the craft, learning lighting, filming, sound editing, and other aspects of the career that are not typically taught through public school curriculum.

   The program also encourages wellness, as our survey results prove that the program improves self-esteem and communication skills among participants.

   Since the field is so vast, a student whose interests are encouraged by this program will become a lifelong learner.

3. Building Leadership

   FFI's CINEMA also builds leadership, by bringing together a network of professionals in the industry to train a future generation of film industry professionals. These students will be encouraged to continue
   to network within the industry to establish South Florida as an industry hub.

4. Design and Development

   N/A

Narrative: Marketing and Promotion

FFI hires a local PR firm to help promote its programs and workshops. The marketing efforts will include a press release that will be created and distributed to local radio stations, newspapers Miami Herald, Sun Sentinel, Miami New Times, and others to announce student films that have won awards during the year.

FFI will also announce its programs through its quartley newsletter that is sent out via email blast to a list of 5,000 film community leaders, industry professionals and students. Marketing primarily focuses on the broadcast of the finished films and entry into the local and national film festival markets. All programs and workshops are listed on FFI's professionally-designed website, www.flfilminstitute.org.

FFI created a YouTube Channel linked to our website which has thirteen films currently screening on the channel with over 8,000 hits to our page. Our FACEBook page was created to track our current and former film students. Our post quality rating on FB is 31.1 with 115 fans.

2009 Film Festival's screenings & Awards

Aug. 2009 - City of Miami Mayor's Recitial
Dance For A Daisy
1 film screened to over 300 attendees

Oct. 2009, The Education Channel (Tampa, FL)
Don't Drop By & Bad Bishops
2 films screened to over 300 attendees

Oct. 2009 - FLIFF
Brain Juice & Bad Bishops
2 films screened to 250 attendees
Honorable Mention for the Shorts section of the FLIFF

Oct. 2009 - Yosemite Film Festival
Final Encore
John Muir Gold Award

Nov.2009 - Miami Short Film Festival
Final Encore Tomorrow's Filmmaker's Today

Narrative: Personnel and Partners

Through the leadership of Stephanie Martino-Rizzi, FFI has been operating continuously since 1992. She brings to the organization a depth of experience in the development and coordination of film programs, workshops, special events, grant writing, marketing and public relations. FFI has been strategically increasing its organizational capacity. Then part-time Director Rizzi entered into a long-term agreement with a contractual Grant Writer in 2006 in an effort to increase government and foundation funding. The additional contributed income coupled with an increase in earned revenue through the workshop series for adults has increased the organization's overall budget steadily (30-45%) over the last three years.

Through a grant from The Children's Trust FFI has been able to expand its staff and consultants by hiring a Site Coordinator, who helps with the instructors, liaisons with teachers, prepares curriculum, teaches Pre Production workshops, distributes and gathers course materials and evaluation materials. FFI also hired a part-time Program Assistant who performs the duties of the collection of the evaluation tools for data entry and assists with all film student film shoots. Finally, we contract with a professional evaluator who coordinates with the program staff in a participatory evaluation to document, monitor, and evaluate the CINEMA program; train and guide in data collection and entry; conduct analysis, report results, and assist in utilization of findings for program improvement.

Most instructors have worked with FFI for several years. Whenever there is a vacancy, Martino-Rizzi and members of the Board interview prospective applicants against a rigorous set of criteria to find the most talented and qualified personnel. Istructors are chosen based on reputation in their particular area of expertise (script writing, acting, technical, etc.) and experience in teaching youth. All personnel and program partners described in this application are committed to the project. Instructor bios are attached.

FFI has collaborated with a number of different organizations and associations. Our primary programmatic collaborators are Miami Dade County Public Schools, City of Miami Mayor's Heart of the Parks, Miami Job Corps. FFI has also worked with the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, (AICP), Film Florida, National Association of Latino Independent Produces, (NALIP), Miami-Dade Mayor's Office, City of Miami Mayor's Office of Film and Cultural Affairs, Miami Beach Offices of Film & Entertainment and Florida Media Market, the Miami Children's Museum.

FFI relies on members of the community to assist in the film shoots by providing film shoot locations, transportation, food during the day-long shoot, equipment handling, and general moral support. Typically, parents of the students involved have been active volunteers, and we have also been fortunate to receive the support, both in-kind and monetary, from community business and organizations such as Publix, Subway, and others. Community support is also extremely important for all film screenings, festivals, and awards ceremonies.

Proposal Estimates

Estimated Counties served

• Miami-Dade

Narrative: Assessment and Planning

FFI provides CINEMA free of charge to students from all areas of Miami-Dade County. The 2000 census declared Miami to be the fourth poorest city in the United States. Despite the resources available here, Miami's young people continue to face the highest needs in the state. One critical indicator of the need for educational programs that interest youth and provide them a focused, viable career path is the dismal graduation rate in Miami. A research study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2006 found that Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the fourth largest school district in the nation, ranks amongst the "worst performing" in Florida and in the nation with a dismal graduation rate of 45.3%.

Students who participate in the CINEMA program will learn a variety of skill sets that allow them to embark on a viable career path and break the cycle of poverty that traps low-skill workers. As filmmaking has grown to become an important part of the economic future of South Florida, there is increasing demand for trained professionals to fill the many positions created by this industry. With the tremendous popularity of sites such as YouTube and opportunities for paying work available from an ever expanding array of internet sites and web TV, young people who have formal training and experience in the film industry have more options than ever for employment or entrepreneurship that will break the cycle of poverty.

Our program also increases student's positive peer relationships, helping to keep students interested in school and well-directed.

The project will be evaluated through a pre- and post-course evaluation tool designed by independent evaluator Raymond & Associates, Inc. The students will play a major role in the evaluation process. They will be given forms to fill out to ensure that the goals and objectives of the workshops have been met.

The project will also be evaluated through the board, staff, instructors and teachers who will utilize a stringent criteria including: workshop participation, content, and storyline. The project may also be evaluated in terms of real-world success of the scripts produced, as illustrated in letters of support from a previous participants and awards received at film festivals.

The Board of FFI meets each summer to evaluate the results from the previous school year. Comments, both objective and subjective, from students and teachers are evaluated to discern whether improvements should be made in curriculum, scheduling, technology, marketing or other areas of our program. Successes and disappointments from film festival entries are also considered. The finished films are themselves evaluated to ensure that students learned and incorporated all of the components of the filmmaking curriculum. The staff then adjusts the curriculum to incorporate any changes prior to meeting with M-DCPS representatives to determine the schools for the following year. MDCPS determines which schools will be served based on a desire to rotate the program among schools that have adequate facilities and complementary course work (media arts or possibly drama courses already in place to provide class time and students interested in the subject matter).

Narrative: Proposal Impact

FFI serves youth ages 13-22 in Miami-Dade County. Our programs are free and held in ADA compliant venues. Our program participant demographics generally mirror the demographics of the students in public schools. In recent years, FFI has served some of the most low-income students in Miami Carol City, Booker T. Washington, Miami Edison SHS.

Filmmaking is arguably the most popular art form in the history of mankind, and the potential for aesthetic expression is limitless.

Benefits to Students:
Students who participate in FFI's workshops often come from diverse backgrounds and must first learn to work together with one another to create a finished artistic product, their film. These films are an expression of the combined artistic talents of the entire student team and often address issues of diversity and their solutions or outcomes.

This program provides a viable career path for students in an industry that fosters support of cultural and ethnic diversity. The participants in our workshops are themselves a future generation of Florida artists and will benefit from the knowledge, experience, and exposure that they gain.

They will also benefit from the contacts that they make through the workshops, offering opportunities for future collaborations and feedback.

Benefits to Florida Artists:
Eight filmmakers will be invited to serve as paid instructors for these workshops. In addition to earning a fee for their work, these artists will benefit from the increased exposure to new audiences as well as to potential members of the filmmaking community.

Additionally, these programs afford Florida artists the opportunity to network through our partner organizations: the Miami Dade County Public School system, and the City of Miami.

Economic Benefits:
Florida Arts in general will benefit from the education of a new generation of filmmakers, an area that is becoming increasingly important to the state's economy.

Societal Benefits:
By producing and then screening these films for the general public, a public dialogue regarding diversity issues ensues.

Benefits to School System:
MDCPS benefits from utilizing the cost-effective alternative of hiring outside contractors to provide media arts education. Through the CINEMA program, MDCPS is able to bring filmmaking professionals directly to the students to share their industry knowledge. This directly correlates with MDCPS's mission of providing the highest quality education so that all students are empowered to lead productive and fulfilling lives as lifelong learners and responsible citizens.

Narrative: Education and Outreach

FFI's CINEMA program will expand arts-based educational programming for youth by offering a series of arts workshops that enhance a variety of skills: student literacy, artistic self-expression, cinematography, music, and editing. This program will also meet the missions of FFI by providing students with a viable career path in the arts. It will also meet the mission of MDCPS by providing educational excellence for students enrolled in Miami-Dade public schools.

CINEMA is an entirely student-directed program. During the course of the 16 two-hour sessions, students learn how to write a script treatment, and each student in the course writes a proposed script. Scripts must incorporate appropriate literary quality, storytelling, and plot devices. The students then work together to determine the top three scripts. Each of these scripts is considered and thoroughly evaluated by the team for elements that will create an outstanding finished film, and one script is selected for filming. This process emphasizes the ability of critical thinking. The students then audition for the acting roles, and actors are chosen based on principals learned in the course. Students must also determine who will handle the musical score, the lighting, logistics, makeup, costumes, who will be the director, and who will operate the camera. This program integrates an entire arts based curriculum into a defined project that encourages team work, decision making, time management, and planning skills.

On the day of the film shoot, students must film the entire movie: the actors must know their lines and take direction; makeup and costumes must be perfect; equipment must be moved to and from location; lighting and weather conditions must be accommodated. All of this must happen despite cultural, racial or ethnic differences of the participants. Students then edit the finished film and add the musical score and credits. Each student on the team receives a finished DVD copy of the film, and this is an important component in a film resume for students who will seek careers in the industry. Students continue to be involved with entering the films into festivals and attending screenings and awards ceremonies.

Operating Budget

Proposal Budget: Summary

Proposal Budget: Detail

Proposal Summary: Evaluation Plan

FFI has hired Raymond Consulting, Inc. to develop an overall evaluation strategy for CINEMA.

The measures will be administered at the program sites by the program staff. All responses will be entered into a secure data collection spreadsheet by the program staff. The evaluator performs spot checks for data entry errors and analyzes the data. The Program Director and Instructors utilize the results with assistance from the external evaluator.

Program Goals: (1) To increase participants' awareness of, and preparation for, careers in the film industry. (2) To promote positive youth development through improving participants' social interaction and work readiness skills.

Target Population: High school students

Program Summary: During 13-16 intensive workshops at selected school sites and local community centers, film industry professionals guide groups of participants through the entire process of creating a film including script writing, acting, filming, sound, and editing. During the program, participants are introduced to jobs in the filmmaking industry, gain hands-on experience working with film making equipment, and produce a film.

Descriptions of Measures

Pre & Post CINEMA Skills Inventory assesses student progress in achieving program outcomes. The assessment contains two domain areas: film skills (e.g. technical, creative, dramatic) and relevant work readiness skills.

Student Survey assesses student perceptions of their skills, knowledge, and experience in film making; knowledge of film industry; and team work. The pre-program survey focuses on student baseline skills and experiences. The end of program student survey assesses student satisfaction with the program, obtains student perceptions on program outcomes, student recommendations for program improvement, and quotes from students on program impact.

Narrative: Applicant History

The Florida Film Institute (FFI) was established to provide students and young adults with a nurturing and hands-on environment in the field of Media Arts. Since its inception in 1992, FFI has mentored over 4,900 middle and high school students from Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. FFI teaches the art, business, and science of filmmaking, so that the students may have the confidence and experience necessary to consider it as a viable career path. FFI is the only organization in South Florida to provide this in-school training for middle and high school students.

School year 2009 marks our 17th consecutive year of teaching our in-school program, Cinematographers in Education and Media Arts (CINEMA), in six Miami-Dade public high schools. FFI meets with Miami-Dade County Public Schools officials each year to select the schools that will be served by our program. Schools are selected to serve the greatest need in the community on a rotating basis.

In the past 16 years, FFI student films have received 34 exciting awards in filmmaking. Awards for our student-made films have been given at the local, state, and national levels. The student films have been screened at 6 national, 10 regional and 19 local student film festivals and on HBO, Kid Flicks.

FFI has seen several participants receive exciting honors in filmmaking. In 2009 FINAL ENCORE won the John Muir Gold Award at the 2009 Yosemite Film Festival, and the film will screened at the 2009 Miami Short Film Festival, Tomorrow's Filmmaker's Today. BRAIN JUICE and BAD BISHOPS both have won the Honorable Mention Narrative at the 2009 FLIFF. In 2008 "DON'T DROP BY" also screened at the Miami Short Film Festival, Tomorrow's Filmmaker's Today. And in 2006-2007 A NEW LOVE won Best Cinematography at the MCM Film Festival and BEST FLORIDA FILM at the FLIFF. Three students were nominated and awarded a plaque for their outstanding contributions in filmmaking by the Miami Dade Mayor's Office of Film & Entertainment.

Our organization continues to grow, building on the strength of our programming and reputation, to become a major contributor to the success of our children and the South Florida film industry.

We have also offered filmmaking instruction during summer camps, in collaboration with the Miami Mayor's Heart of the Parks program. And currently CINERAMA SATURDAYS is being held at the Little Haiti Cultural Center. Over the years CINEMA has also been offered at the Miami Children's Museum, Miami Job Corps, AGAPE Family Services, and some schools in Broward County.

In addition to our long running in-school programs, FFI developed a script-writing workshop and held the first workshop in 2005 at the Sheraton Biscayne Bay; subsequent workshops were held in 2006 at CineWorks Digital Studios in Miami, in 2007 at the Wolfsonian- FIU on Miami Beach and in 2008 at SPACE 4004 in Miami.

In 2007, FFI held the first Alternative Media workshop in collaboration with Florida Media Market. Alternative Media created a link between the film students in South Florida and the industry in Hollywood, CA. Various Hollywood talent were invited to participate, making the seminar an extremely valuable opportunity for our students to network with Hollywood veterans.

While we evaluate each program against stringent criteria, perhaps the greatest indicator of our success is the ongoing continuation of our partnerships.

Narrative: Sustainability

FFI has acquired significant resources over the past 17 years to provide training for students, including film industry professionals in the field of script writing, technical support and mentoring. FFI has a group of 8-12 instructors who are specialists in the craft of filmmaking and very highly regarded in the filmmaking community. Both theoretical and practical teaching methods are employed. Also, due in part to our renewal of our grant from The Children's Trust, FFI has been able to expand our organizational capacity to include 2 part-time staff members to assist with administrative operations. For the past 17 years, FFI has not only sustained its programs but has expanded them to reach more students interested in filmmaking.

FFI is committed to continuing to serve the youth of the community through CINEMA and has remained solvent despite recent economic setbacks. Our programs continue to receive recognition and acclaim, and as our reputation grows, so do options for funding and collaboration.

While we have remained in excellent standing with current funders, we continue to seek additional sources of funding. Management philosophy has been to achieve a sustainable growth rate, a strategy that has served the organization, and our participants, well for 17 years.

Narrative: Fiscal Stability

FFI currently has no organizational debt, which has helped FFI to weather the current economic crisis. Recently, MDCPS had to eliminate funding to outside contractors. However, through effective management and aggressive seeking of additional sources of funding, FFI was able to raise sufficient funds to continue to offer CINEMA in MDCPS.

FFI also has diverse sources of funding, including grants, private donations, fundraising, and sponsorships. While the organization does not currently have an endowment fund, the organization's strategic plan for future growth includes establishing a savings plan.

Non-State financial support for the proposal includes funding from The Children's Trust, Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, Bank Atlantic Foundation, Dade Community Foundation, Rush Philanthropic, and private donations.

Narrative: Collection Summary (GPS Collecting Museums only)

N/A

Applicant Accessibility

Narrative: Accessibility

All activities are held in ADA accessible venues. All Miami Dade County Public Schools and Miami Dade County Parks are ADA accessible.

CINEMA is designed for the beginning filmmaker, and the program is available for participants from high school level through adulthood. (FFI also offers adult continuing education courses.) Because CINEMA encompasses so many facets, students of all abilities are able to find a particular piece of the project in which to excel while working as a member of the creative team. Our students, as well as our instructors and staff, come from a variety of socio-economic, racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. One of the primary components of this program is that students from diverse backgrounds learn to work together as a team to complete the project.

Support Materials
Page 1. 501 (c) determination letter
Page 2. Division of Corporations Record
Page 3. Letter from Executive Director
Page 4. 2009 Certificate with State Logo/
back page DVD, "HOOKS REVENGE"
Page 5. FFI's Brochure, with State Logo
Page 6. FFI's Summer Film Camp post card
Page 7. Miami Herald Neighbors Section /
back page ElNuevoHerald.com
Page 8. MSFF Program Book
Tomorrow's Filmmakers Today /
back page 2008 MSFF Certificate
"DON'T DROP BY"
Page 9. Support letters
A- Miami Carol City SHS/back page MDCPS
B- North Miami Beach SHS/back page BTW SHS
Page 10. Evaluation – Executive Summary
Page 11. Long Range Plan
Page 12. Organizational Chart
Page 13. Board Members
Page 14. In-Kind detail