Project VoiceScape is a partnership with Adobe Youth Voices, PBS and POV to mentor today’s best young documentary filmmakers. Keep up with news from the filmmakers and their mentors on the Project VoiceScape blog.
Alejandra Gama
Congratulations to Project VoiceScape participant Alejandra Gama, who spoke last week at TEDxRedmond about her passion for storytelling and the importance of youth speaking out on issues important to them.
Watch Alejandra’s TEDxRedmond talk. Alejandra takes the stage at 5:10.
Alejandra discovered her love for storytelling at age 11, when she decided with “the strongest conviction” that she was going to be a Broadway actress. Her passion for the stage led her to screenwriting and composing short stories, pursuits that eventually led her to take a filmmaking class last year.
The perspective Alejandra brings to her stories and her desire to support her peers in their right to a voice both contributed to her becoming filmmaker finalist in Project VoiceScape as well as participating in this year’s TEDxRedmond, a conference organized by middle and high school students and featuring presentations by youth who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in fields including performing arts, education and social action.
“I went there to give a speech and inspire, but found myself leaving with a grand motivation in my heart and much inspiration in my mind,” says Alejandra of her experience at the event, which was attended by more than 700 students. “I’ve realized how foolish I’ve been in letting my age be an obstacle in my dreams. I now know I am not crazy in pursuing my plans for the future.”
TEDxRedmond speaker Alejandra Gama (left) with sister Eli.
Alejandra’s trip was not all work and no play. She had the opportunity to explore Seattle with her older sister, who accompanied her on the trip from Arizona.
We look forward to seeing what’s next for Alejandra, who begins her senior year in high school back home in Goodyear, Arizona. Alejandra will be attending the Project VoiceScape live showcase at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., on the evening of Thursday, October 6, 2011.
Follow the progress of all the Project VoiceScape filmmakers and their award-winning documentary mentors, along with videos and more behind the scenes coverage, at the Project VoiceScape blog.