REEL Film Program

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Oakland, CA
REEL Film Program

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REEL is an after school film program for high school students in the Bay Area. REEL is an immersive and hands on after school program for inner city youth.

We provide students the unique opportunity to produce a short film. Students will understand the power of filmmaking and how it can be used for advocacy and how filmmaking can shape the way we see the world. Our origin story begins in East Oakland. Anthonia Onyejekwe, our founder and CEO, grew up here amid the flourishing art and activism culture of Oakland that helped create a passion for filmmaking and storytelling. REEL would make it our mission to nurture that same passion in all our students in the Bay Area.

10/15/2026

Y’all it’s here! The moment you’ve been waiting for 🎬

Find Your Crew tickets are now live.

📍 Oakland Bloc
📅 November 13th
⏰: Doors open at 4:30pm

The Bay Area’s creative link-up is officially dropping. It’s free, and you don’t want to miss it. Shop, eat, meet the people building what’s next, and stay for the panel at 5:30. Panelist details are coming soon, so keep your eyes open. Spots are going fast, so don’t be the one who hears about it secondhand.

Comment REEL and we’ll send you the link!

10/14/2026

Calling all VENDORS! 📣🎬

Find Your Crew is coming Friday, November 13th at Block Community Hub, and we’re opening up vendor tables! Come share your brand, products, or services with filmmakers, creatives, and community members all in one room.

Want a table? Comment REEL and we’ll send you the details! 💛

📍 Block Community Hub
🗓 Friday, November 13
⏰ Doors at 4:30 PM

CreativeCommunity BayAreaCreatives OaklandEvents FilmCommunity NetworkingEvent

10/13/2026

SAVE THE DATE! 📅

Find Your Crew is back. Friday, November 13th at Block Community Hub. Drop in anytime from 4:30 to 7:00 PM, with the panel around 5:45 and networking shortly after.

This is where Bay Area filmmakers and creatives meet. Your next collaborator might be standing next to you, and your first team could start here. Miss it, and you’ll be hearing about it for weeks. 👀

Free to attend. Donations welcome. 💛
Special guests to be announced.

RSVP link drops soon. Follow along so you’re first in line. 🔔

10/12/2026

Behind every great film is a student who decided to pick up the camera. 🎥

At REEL, our students don’t just watch stories, they tell them. From framing the shot to calling the action, they learn every part of the filmmaking process hands-on.
This is what it looks like when a student takes the lead. 🎬

NextGenStorytellers

10/09/2026

At REEL, our students don’t just learn how to make films. They learn how to stand behind their stories. Pitching an idea, introducing their work, and speaking in front of a room builds confidence that goes far beyond the screen.

When a young person practices sharing their voice, they learn to:
✨ Organize their ideas clearly
✨ Trust themselves in front of others
✨ Listen, respond, and connect
✨ Believe their story matters

Filmmaking gives them something to say. Public speaking gives them the confidence to say it. 🎬

So proud of every REEL student who steps up to the mic. 💛

FilmEducation

10/05/2026

Founder life: part therapy, part paradise 🌴 Went from making sancocho in the DR to eating fresh conch and touring a literal seashell house in Bimini, all while REEL emails were still coming in hot. Didn’t pause the hustle, just gave it a better view. Part 2, as promised 👀

WorkTrip IslandLife

10/01/2026

Meet Paige, one of our incredible Teaching Artists! 🎬

Last year, Paige’s students tackled a powerful theme in their 90-second short films: how AI is shaping their lives. This year, she’s guiding a new group of students through our “What They Don’t See” theme, encouraging them to reveal something about their lives, their neighborhoods, or their communities that often goes overlooked.

Watching young people process something this personal through the lens of filmmaking is exactly why REEL exists, we don’t just teach technical skills, we give students the tools to make sense of the world around them.

Paige’s dedication to her students and this program is the heartbeat of what we do.

Swipe to hear more from Paige about her experience teaching with REEL Film Program. 🎥

09/28/2026

At REEL Film Program, we put real equipment and real creative power in the hands of Bay Area youth. They write it. They shoot it. They edit it. And in May 2027, they premiere it on the big screen at REEL Film Fest in front of their families and community.

We’ve worked with over 300 students since 2017, and this class is just getting started. ✨

Here’s how you can be part of it:
📩 Join our newsletter (link in bio) to follow their journey
💛 Support a student filmmaker with a donation (link in bio)
👇 Tell us in the comments: what’s something people don’t see about where you’re from?

09/23/2026

Every donation, big or small, helps us put a camera in a student’s hands for the first time. 🎬

REEL Film Program provides hands-on filmmaking education to Bay Area youth, teaching real skills, building real confidence, and giving students a genuine platform to tell their own stories.

Your support directly fuels our program, our students, and the next generation of storytellers.

Consider donating today, link in bio. Every bit helps us keep creating.

09/21/2026

We’ve seen a real boost in our newsletter subscribers lately, and honestly, we’re so grateful. 📩🎬

If you haven’t joined yet, now’s a great time, we share updates on events like Find Your Crew, program news, and everything happening with REEL before anyone else.

Have you subscribed yet? Link in bio to join the list!

Address

Oakland, CA

Website

http://reelfilms.org/

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