This has got to be one of the best ideas for a summer camp for kids I’ve ever heard about: A boot camp for aspiring film critics. Imagine, instead of those tired old-school summer camp activities like canoeing, making lanyards and being bitten by bugs, your children will get to watch movies, debate what makes a movie great and even interview celebrities and industry experts, then write about it and make their own review videos!
The KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Boot Camp is aimed at the 11-14yo crowd and is part of an organization called KIDS FIRST! The camp will include having the kids…
- Watch the latest films.
- Learn to critique and write film reviews.
- Learn to present yourself on camera.
- Meet guest film critics, producers and actors.
- Learn interview techniques.
- Improve your camera shooting and editing skills.
- Benefit from coaching by seasoned professionals.
Oh, and did I mention that I’ve been invited to come and speak them as a film critic? Yup, and reasonably so as I’ve been reviewing movies for ScienceFiction.com, The Boulder Weekly and this very Web site for years now. Actually I’ve been invited to speak, but I’m really expecting to learn more from them and will bring my own 14yo daughter along for the experience too. We certainly watch – and talk about – films quite a bit in my family!
The good news is that the KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Boot Camp is also a road show, offering the same experience for kids at various cities throughout the United States. Starting in Denver, CO, kids in the following cities will also have a chance to be a Critic for a Week: Miami, Florida; Old Bridge, New Jersey; Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA; New York, New York; and Washington DC.
NOTE: I checked, there really is a place called Bala Cynwyd in Pennsylvania. It’s a suburb of Philadelphia. And I bet the locals are really good at coming up with words for hangman that have no vowels too 🙂
Where this is particularly valuable is that we adults can listen to the buzz of these children who are eager and interested in cinema and learn from them about what they think should be in future movies. Are they all going to say that superheroes are the bomb? I’ll report back after I have a chance to meet them in just a few weeks: The Denver camp is the first week of June!
Learn more and sign up that eager young film critic in your household today: KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Boot Camp, 2018. In Denver, it’ll be at the Sie FilmCenter, June 4-8, so ya need to jump on this!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post to help promote the boot camp. But it’s still a really cool idea and I am going to be speaking at their Denver event too!