About SVJR
SVJR Film exposes high school students to the power of storytelling by providing a breadth of exciting opportunities to develop and showcase their cinematic skills. Our programming inspires students to explore a future in filmmaking and opens up pathways to make it a viable career option through Festival exposure, networking opportunities and mentorships, and skill developing workshops.
SVJR Film is made possible by the generous financial support of the Steen Family Foundation, Greater Horizons Foundation and the Nordstrom Family
Discover the Sun Valley Junior Film Workshop Curriculum
Download the detailed agendas for each day of the workshop.
Program Details
PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS
Success Stories
“My film, BIG FUTURE, won the 2025 Winter Screening Series Hot Shot Award. My mom and I attended the festival and had the best time. There was a such a good line up of events and films. I got to meet so many industry professionals, who were all very kind and welcoming. All the festival directors/staff were amazing and took such good care of us. They introduced me to all kinds of people and I gained some great connections. I can't wait to come back!"
ASHLEY JAE UHRIG
2024 Winter Screening Series Winner
“SVJR had a massive impact on my confidence as a filmmaker. I felt for the first time that my work had been integrated into a proper film festival! The festival flying us out and housing us was just all I could ask for. Being able to see all the high-level films was not only fun but also made me feel that I could participate at the feature film level as well. Just an absolutely wonderful experience."
Julian Felix Aaronson
2024 Winner
“I was accepted and committed to my dream program of film and tv production at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. I think the SVJFC definitely made my portfolio stronger and even impressed the admissions people.”
Jiayang Liu
2020 Winner
“Not only does participation in film festivals greatly help students get into film programs in college, but there are plenty of other good reasons to do so! For students, having an event to travel to and attend is exciting, especially if they will get to see their film on the big screen. This was absolutely the case for the SVJFC! Any kind of award from a film festival, cash or trophy, looks incredibly good on a resume and it has allowed me to secure gigs in the past, and help me stand out as an applicant even to regular jobs! And it certainly helps out on a college application.”
JUSTIN BUSS
2019 Winner
Interested in taking your filmmaking skills further?
Dark to Light Productions is launching immersive crash courses for students and adults—offering the core lessons of film school in a fraction of the time.
Learn how to develop screenplays and ideas, discover the power of visual storytelling, practice the essentials of cinematography and camera operation, explore the art of shaping light, understand how set design and color shape emotion through wardrobe and production design, build a strong soundscape for your story, and dive into editing and color grading to bring it all together. These hands-on classes provide the tools to create your own films and step confidently into the industry.
PAST EVENTS
