The Tribeca Film Institute has announced the expansion of its Tribeca Teaches program to Los Angeles, with an after-school digital storytelling program at Lennox Middle School. The program, presented in partnership with California non-profit Southern California Crossroads, is TFI’s first pilot outside of New York City and will focus on the medium of video games to guide a bilingual, storytelling curriculum to students. Tribeca Teaches Los Angeles joins TFI’s established youth programs in New York, which are expected to serve more than 15,000 students in 2012. Beginning this month, Tribeca Teaches Los Angeles will partner experienced filmmakers with teachers, community activists and parents to help students script their own stories using the familiar narrative of video games. At the same time, in its New York City base, Tribeca Teaches will continue working in schools in all five of the city’s boroughs. TFI also announced a new season of the Tribeca Youth Screening Series which will expand its programming at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival to bring a select number of festival films to students in all five boroughs of New York City. The Youth Screening Series offers free screenings to thousands of New York City public school students throughout the year with the aim of developing critical viewing skills. A new partnership with the Independent Television Service (ITVS) and the Women and Girls Lead campaign will offer free screenings of a series of ITVS documentary films that examine and celebrate African American women’s leadership, empowerment and social justice.
