Mariam’s journey as Program Coordinator began in February 2023. She started through CUNY’s Internship to Employment program and joined the team full time in September 2023. Mariam brings an abundance of passion and care to this role. She supports after-school students, guiding them through their journey at Reel Works.

Reel Works Doc Lab mentor Jalyssa Jimenez joined our Film School Friday for an impactful screening of “The Next Stop,” a documentary-narrative inspired by real-life events. This courageous project confronts the often untold stories of sexual harassment women face on New York City’s transit system. “The Next Stop” won the Best Youth award at BlackStar Film Festival and was nominated for Tribeca Film Festival.

Reel Works Media Career Pathways students participated in an enriching marketing 101 workshop led by Jenni Loo, Producer of Internal Productions, and Marisa Iovino, Communications Associate. The afternoon was lively with insights, interactive activities, and a shared passion for learning. Here’s more about the afternoon!

Film enthusiasts and community supporters joined to enjoy films from the next generation of storytellers. This was our biggest film festival, with 42 films screened and over 300 people attending. We opened the festival to global filmmakers for the first time, allowing people worldwide to submit their work. This is not just a festival; it’s an international celebration of creativity and connection.

Reel Works hosted a Halloween-inspired 48 Hour Filmmaking Challenge in October. Yasmin who worked on the short film Finding Willow reflects on the exhilarating weekend in our latest blog post.

On July 12, 2023, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Deputy Mayor Ana Almanzar, and Commissioner Keith Howard visited Reel Works to celebrate 60 years of the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), which connects NYC Youth with quality summer jobs. Over 40 SYEP students, from Bronx Lab and Bronx International High School, joined to commemorate the program's success!

The Reel Works College Panel and Grad Party was a success! Reflecting on its impact months later reminds us how valuable the initiative is to our community. Coming together to prepare students for their college experience is unique and inspiring.

This year the Reel Works community celebrated Valentine’s Day with none other than comedian, writer, producer, and actress, Phoebe Robinson! The Reel Works Ambassadors decorated the classroom space with hearts, a cookie-decorating station, a photobooth, and snack station for a watch party and virtual Master Class with Phoebe Robinson. We had over 30 students in-person, and another 35 tuned in virtually from Reel Works, MediaMKRS programs, and beyond.

Last month, the Reel Works community partnered with the Black Employee Network of NBCUniversal to host an incredible Career Panel featuring four inspiring Black industry professionals. The event was attended by a diverse group of people, all eager to hear about the journeys of Sakeena Irish, Ryan Jones, Seth Saint Pierre, and Raelyn Johnson.

This morning, Good Morning America surprised Reel Works’ own Charles Reynoso to honor his tireless dedication to inspiring, teaching and mentoring young filmmakers at ABC News’ Oscars after-party.

The Documentary Fellows is a new program where students who’ve previously made documentaries come together in teams consisting of producers, editors, and cinematographers, to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Nine students were accepted and three teams were formed. Over the course of the program cinematography students learn lighting, and the ins and outs of how a documentary camera works, while editors learn to tell stories on the video timeline and cut together the story. Story producers learn research, development, and interviewing skills. Students practice their pitches at Part2 Pictures - one of the first steps to many accomplishments to come.

The Reel Works in Schools and Communities program is currently serving 5th-grade students at Park Slope Elementary. The students are learning how to create their very own stop-motion animation short films. In preparation, students have created characters, storyboards, and short animations of their names, and now - they are bringing characters to life with claymation.

In the Fall of 2022, Reel Works partnered with I.A.T.S.E. Local 764 to launch the Inaugural I.A.T.S.E Entertainment Industry Wardrobe Training - a training designed to give access to careers in the Wardrobe Department to talented New Yorkers. On Saturdays, the trainees met with various members of Local 764 and were educated on topics ranging from How to fill out start paperwork and time cards to Quick Changes to Beading. Each week trainees were given wardrobe kit essentials to help build their kit and alleviate the financial barrier of building one on their own.

Reel Works was honored to be invited to a special career awareness event at NBCUniversal. The day began with a tour of their spaces including news studios, control rooms and the SNL stages. After getting an overview of the different shows that NBCUniversal houses, industry professionals shared about their work and what they do. One of our Career Exploration participants, Yesmil Cepeda, said “Attending the NBCU Tour was very eye-opening for me and made me understand that there are more careers than I ever imagined in the industry. There’s truly something for everyone!”

A key tenet of Reel Works’ mission statement is 1:1 mentorship between an industry professional and a youth filmmaker. Reel Works currently has over 50 volunteer mentors working individually with after-school students. Mentorship yields positive outcomes for both personal development and the quality of films produced by first-time filmmakers.

Reel Works’ young filmmaker community was thrilled to participate in Paramount Network's Season of Giving event again this past holiday season! This volunteer day is a special bi-annual event where industry professionals at Paramount Network provide the opportunity to learn about different career paths within the industry, as well as share their expertise and real-time insights and feedback on our young filmmakers’ feature pitches!

Reel Works is proud to feature and spotlight powerhouse Hair and Makeup Artist, Podcaster, and Reel Works Alumni Kelly Alfonso! Kelly Alfonso was born on the island of Trinidad & Tobago in the West Indies. From a young age, Kelly has had her hands in pageantry and visual arts. Kelly studied Visual Arts at Cambridge University. With a B.A. from the University of West Indies, Cosmetology License from Empire Beauty School, and a career working in corporate America for a beauty brand, Kelly had a fine-tuned understanding of how the beauty industry runs and how to be a highly functioning successful woman. However, with all this, she still felt something was missing and that she wanted to find a way to share her accomplishments and express herself artistically.

Kayla Scott recently joined Reel Works as the Recruitment Coordinator with the MediaMKRS Career Development team to drive trainee outreach objectives. Her mission is to increase awareness about the various programs and bring in applicants that have been previously underrepresented in the media and entertainment industry.

On December 16th, Reel Works collaborated with Sandbox Films to host award-winning director and producer Sara Dosa, to learn more about her process of making Fire of Love. The conversation was moderated by Reel Works Board Member and Sandbox Films’ Head of Production and Executive Producer, Jessica Harrop.

Over the last few weeks, the students in the Narrative Lab have delved into their projects, exploring wants vs. needs, story structure, character development, and the occasional camera challenge. This December, the Narrative Lab pitched their stories to the community at Paramount Network. With their story cards in hand, they shared their pitches and are incorporating the feedback they received from professional filmmakers into their screenplays.