08/11/2026
Future Filmmakers Wraps Up 2 Weeks of Youth Storytelling
For almost 20 years CAPS Media has hosted the Future Filmmakers Summer Digital Storytelling Program for the youth of Ventura County. This past July we had over a dozen students collaborating on short films and animations. During week 1 student groups were led by local filmmakers to write, shoot and edit their very own short film. “Phil Boring and The Lost Soap” was co-written by Zachary Tillman & C**t Shardien. Tillman and the other student filmmakers explained to us “so basically there’s this kid named Phil Boring, and he goes on a field trip to a museum, and he finds an ancient soap. It’s called the sapphire soap. It grants you a bunch of wishes. And then he throws the soap on the ground, and a cat appears named Peanut. Mr. Muzzle who is Phil’s teacher chases him after it.”
Students collaborated on the entire film production process. They collaborated on script ideas, took turns operating the camera, and boom microphones. “My favorite thing was probably slate and setting up the scenes” said Olivia, who wore the producer hat on this film.
Cayden Heitmann, who played the main role Phil Boring told us about his acting experience “Yeah, acting it was hard because I was the main character, I was in every single scene. Yeah, I had to scream, cry, be super happy, bored.”
Zachary Tillman explained his favorite part of the acting process, “this part definitely had a lot of lines because Mr. Muzzle was the main antagonist, and so that was some good lessons learning how to do a big part in front of the camera.”
For some of these future filmmakers it was their very first time making a movie, and they all agreed it was a fun week working together with a great team. During Week 2 students created their own short “stop-motion” animations.
For these Future filmmakers the fun doesn’t stop when the week is over. They hosted a friends and family screening at the CAPS Media Center. The films will be broadcast on Channel 6 and with video-on-demand on www.capsmedia.org. Plus, their films will hit the festival circuit and can be seen on the big screen at the upcoming Artwalk Ventura Cinefest taking place September 26th & 27th downtown Ventura at the Century 10 Theatres.
ArtWalk Ventura CineFest is a new event for all lovers of cinema. The festival screens traditional genre films; horror, sci-fi, comedy, compelling cutting-edgedramas, experimental fare, and more! The mission is to celebrate independent filmmaking and storytelling, highlighting exceptional works from local and international filmmakers alike.
Brief Q+A panels will follow each screening, and filmmakers will be invited to attend a mixer after the first night's proceedings. ArtWalk CineFest operates under ArtWalk Ventura -- a fun, free, self-guided tour of dozens of galleries, studios, and pop-up gallery locations in Ventura's Westside Cultural District and Downtown. ArtWalk has been a signature event for Ventura for many years, bringing in cultural tourists from all over the golden state. It is now being run by an all-volunteer group which has added new life to the event.
To become part of the CAPS Media family, go to www.capsmedia.org for information on classes and workshops.
