PRESS RELEASE  Thursday, May 28, 2020Contact: John SasakiCommunications Director 510-214-2080[email protected]Tonight: Oakland, CA — Tonight, May 28, Youth Beat will host Creating In Place, a virtual screening party and fundraiser to showcase and support OUSD’s aspiring media makers. The event will include “Quarantine Creations” which are short films, animations and photography all created by Youth Beat students working on class projects from home — either alone or in virtual teams since the quarantine began. The feature presentation will be DISPLACED — Youth Beat’s student-led, 15-minute documentary about the gentrification crisis in Oakland. The film opened to rave reviews in January, but was seen only a few times before the shelter in place order went into effect. “We are excited to be able to share both ‘Quarantine Creations’ and DISPLACED with a big audience,” said Youth Beat Executive Director Jake Schoneker.  “The ‘Quarantine Creations’ are fun, creative, and delightful,” Schoneker explained. “And DISPLACED is something that every Oaklander should see. We hear about the effects of gentrification all the time, but it’s rare to hear from inner-city Oakland kids about how it is impacting their lives. So it’s an important film. It’s also a high quality production that shows just how talented and hardworking our students are. A truly impressive piece of work.” Just last week, DISPLACED won a prestigious Award for Excellence from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.In addition to sharing student work, Youth Beat hopes the May 28 screening party will raise funds to help support its summer and fall film programs. “The COVID crisis has hit inner-city Oakland kids extremely hard,” said Schoneker. “So Youth Beat stepped up quickly to provide ongoing virtual classes during the quarantine, and we’ve been pleased to hear from students that the classes are helping them stay connected, motivated and creative during this chaotic and stressful time. But we need to raise funds now to ensure that we can continue with classes during the summer and next school year.”  Youth Beat student Gil Hernandez said, “If I didn’t have Youth Beat during quarantine, I would have been just bored at home. But my virtual Youth Beat Zoom classes got me creating unique videos I wouldn’t otherwise have thought of.” One of the videos Gil created during the quarantine was a remake of an iconic scene in Clint Eastwood’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”Youth Beat student Sara Lam added, “If I didn’t have Youth Beat, I think I’d be really bored and disappointed. I’d probably be on my phone watching YouTube or something. I didn’t realize I could make films at home. Now I feel like I can. Youth Beat is a place to find your passion and express your creativity. I’ve made eight videos during quarantine!” Tickets for #CreatingInPlace are FREE but reservations are required and seats are limited. Learn more at www.youthbeat.org/creatinginplace. People who can’t join the live stream event are encouraged to reserve a spot anyway. Everyone with a reservation will receive a link to watch a recording of the event and films. Youth Beat is based at KDOL-TV, OUSD’s education access television station and provides in-depth multimedia training to hundreds of OUSD students every year. WHAT: Youth Beat Creating In Place Virtual Screening Party and Fundraiser WHEN: 6:00 p.m., Thursday, May 28 WHERE: Virtual – register here and you will receive a link to the party. ### About the Oakland Unified School DistrictIn California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 83 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success. To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews. |
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