A variety of short films made by local youth through the Comox Valley Art Gallery鈥檚 Youth Media Project will be showing on April 12 at the Rotary Hall in the Florence Filberg Centre.

It is a wonderful opportunity for the debuting filmmakers to ignite discussion about the things they care about. Come to the Filberg Centre for a fun, free cinematic event. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the screening starts at 7. Snacks and refreshments are provided.

The Comox Valley Art Gallery鈥檚 Youth Media Project uses digital media, creative facilitation and artistic collaboration as a framework for youth to share their stories. Folks between the ages of 16-30 get paid a full-time minimum wage to learn concrete media and employability skills over a 13-week program. Participants create one independent film and one film in collaboration with a small business or community organization that is doing sustainable work in the Valley. The participants who come through the program end up creating long-lasting connections not just with each other but with other community members and organizations in the Comox Valley.

鈥淭his program has created an opportunity for me to harness my artistic talents, watch them flourish, and finally begin to view them as assets towards a professional career, rather than keeping them camouflaged under a pile of paperwork,鈥� said L茅a Sapphire. 鈥淭he Youth Media Project has truly been a life-changing experience and for this, I am forever grateful.鈥�

The CVAG YMP project partners with the Wachiay Friendship Centre, the Creative Employment Access Centre and Imagine Comox Valley.

For more details click on the Youth Media Project link at , visit the CVAG Youth Media Project Facebook page or call 250-338-6211.