Future Voices | The Lensic

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Our Programs
Basic Guidelines
Our Team
Winning Films & Photos
Support Future Voices

Congratulations to all of the 2024 Future Voices Festival film & photography winners!

Teachers, REGISTER NOW for information on how your students can participate in the 2024-25 school year.

Lensic Future Voices encourages students ages 12–18 across New Mexico to tell their stories through original photographs and short films. In partnership with Santa Fe Workshops, Future Voices provides high school and middle school students with the support they need to create high-quality projects that are judged in monthly contests and a year-end competition, all with cash prizes. In-class or virtual workshops, led by filmmaking and photography experts, are also available.

Questions? Email Marcella Ernest, program manager, at FutureVoices@lensic.org

Future Voices Annual Film & Photography Festival

The annual festival showcases three-minute films and original photographs created by students, for students, with cash prizes for winning entries.

Monthly Film & Photo Contests

Through our monthly contest for student filmmakers and photographers, students are invited to submit short videos and original photographs. Winners are selected by a panel of professional judges and receive a monetary award.

Monthly Contest Submission Deadlines
The 15th of each month, October through March

Photo by Samantha Trujillo (New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe)

Basic Guidelines

Film

Categories: Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Experimental, Narrative.

Submissions: Films must be less than three minutes long, including credits.

Register for additional details

Photo

Categories: Animals, Architecture, Color, Black & White, Humorous, Manipulated, Most original, Portrait, Street.

Submissions: Images may be color or black & white. Limit: two photo entries per student.

Register for additional details

Classroom Support: Film & Photo Workshops

Future Voices offers an array of workshop modules, led by professional filmmakers and photographers, to enhance classroom curriculum and support production of students’ three-minute films and photographs. These workshops are available upon request.

Our Team

Marcella Ernest is a video artist and scholar of contemporary Native art. She earned a PhD in American Studies from the University of New Mexico, where she is a scholar in the Department of Art History. Marcella has been working with and mentoring young people in film and photography for more than 20 years, ten of them in the Future Voices program. She considers it an honor to be in community with New Mexico film and photography students and teachers.

See Winners

Reid Callanan is founder and director of the Santa Fe Workshops, which for more than 30 years has offered photography and writing workshops to the international imaging community. In addition to workshops in Santa Fe, there are also educational programs in Havana, Cuba, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Reid volunteers his photography and teaching talents to help judge photo submissions and provide instruction to Future Voices students.

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Winning Films & Photos

Future Voices 2024

Still from “Colors of a Memory” by Hayden Moody (Public Academy for Performing Arts) / First Place, Experimental Category, 2024

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Future Voices 2023

Photo by Izaak Buetens (Santa Fe Prep) / Second Place, Manipulated Category, 2023

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Future Voices 2022

Photo by Nico Spangenburg (Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe) / First Place, Street Category, 2022

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Future Voices 2021

Still from “A Silent Dream’s Journey,” by Lucas Griego (Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque) / First Place, Animation Category, 2021

View Winners

Support Future Voices

Lensic Future Voices, like all of the Lensic’s performing arts education programs, is funded by contributions from the community. Your tax-deductible donation to support Lensic education programs encourages a new generation of creativity and self-expression!

MAKE A GIFT TODAY!