On Nov. 13, 260 Georgia students will convene for the annual Mobile Movie Makers film festival — a daylong effort to train the “next generation” of filmmakers and content creators.
This year’s festival hit a few roadblocks. It was originally scheduled for Oct. 17 at the Microsoft Campus in Atlantic Station, but the company pulled out as a sponsor just weeks before the festival due to “infrastructure” issues.
It forced festival founder Sahar Simmons to pivot. She rescheduled and moved to the Georgia State University Creative Media Institute. “I’m just really glad we did not have to cancel,” she said.
But she did have to adjust the festival — shaving 400 attendees down to 260, removing the film screenings since GSU didn’t have a movie theater — while keeping the core intact.
Most of the festival is the same. From 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., students will attend “personally curated” panels and workshops on gaming, lighting, producing, costume design, crowdfunding, animation and more. It will all be through the lens of mobile filmmaking, too.
It aligns with the Mobile Movie Makers mission: workforce development for young people in the film and entertainment industry. Outside of the festival, “M3” hosts workshops and has an “M3 Youth Film Crew” to cover events on their mobile phones.
Soon, the organization will even launch an in-school mobile phone filmmaking curriculum. Simmons thinks it meets young people “exactly where they are” as digital natives who are “natural writers, producers, editors and directors” on smartphones and social media.
It’s also about bridging a gap. Simmons has worked in the entertainment industry for over 15 years. She sees a “serious void” when it comes to connecting young people to the industry.
“They see the trucks, they see the signs, but they can’t just walk on a set,” Simmons said. “So I really wanted to bring this world to them.”
But Simmons knows it’s a challenging industry. She is focused on film, television, social media, music and gaming — notoriously difficult career fields. Some are even on the decline.
In Georgia, the film and television industry has experienced a major downturn. It peaked in 2022, with $4.4 billion in annual production spending. Today, that number is closer to $2 billion.
“I’m very optimistic, but I’m a realist,” Simmons said. She remembers when the industry was booming and she was inundated with projects. She also remembers when the jobs started to dry up.
“It’s important that these generations understand the change,” Simmons said. “I don’t think the industry is ever going to be like it was.”
Simmons wants to teach young people a variety of career paths. She cites content creators like Druski as examples. The Georgia-grown American comedian and influencer gained popularity for his social media sketches. On Nov. 7, he became the first digital content creator to host “Saturday Night Live.” On Dec. 1, he’ll launch a semi-scripted comedy series on Netflix.
And he started by making videos on his phone.
“We don’t have to wait for the studios to tell us how we need to move,” Simmons said. “Independent filmmaking is on the rise, content creation is on the rise.”
The festival founder wants her student participants to “dream and aspire” to be like directors, producers and popular content creators. She also wants them to gain real-life skills at events like the M3 Youth Film Festival.
“Take advantage of the opportunities,” she said. “Do not waste these opportunities, because 260 other students could have been in your place.”
Simmons is looking to bring more students into the fold, though. She plans to host the festival at SCAD next year and make it a two-day affair, with greater capacity and more programming,
“This is a part of my legacy, and I know that we have something special, and I know that nothing like this exists in the country for youth,” Simmons said. “That’s enough for me to keep going.”
