The Talented Youth dba NFFTY

The mission of The Talented Youth is the encouragement and acknowledgement of young artists working in the media arts - promoting their accomplishments through festivals and programs and celebrating the extraordinary talent that exists and the compelling stories they tell. We seek to address marked needs in education and networking for young artists, and to expand opportunities for promotion of their work to a larger audience. 

The mission of NFFTY is to enable, nurture, promote and encourage the next generation of filmmakers to inspire, lead and entertain the world with their stories.  

Founded in 2007 by three [then] teenagers, the non-profit National Film Festival for Talented Youth is the world’s largest and most influential film festival for emerging filmmakers aged 24 and younger. Based in Seattle, WA, the four-day film festival includes screenings, panels, contests, events, and networking opportunities. The 2018 festival will screen over 260 films over 4 days from Thu Oct 25th - Sun Oct 28th, with over 50% of those directors identifying as female. In addition to film screenings, the festival has added NFFTYX, a 3-day immersive VR/360 event with an interactive gallery, workshops, and creator boot camps geared towards young filmmakers from underserved populations. There is also a Future of Film Fair featuring the film industry’s top brands, production companies, and film schools showcasing their products and services for filmmakers to learn about.

Now in its 12th year, NFFTY enables, nurtures, promotes, and encourages the next generation of filmmakers to inspire, lead, and entertain the world with their stories. We encourage and acknowledge young artists working in media arts – promoting their accomplishments through festivals and programs; celebrating the extraordinary talent that exists and the compelling stories they tell. We seek to address marked needs in education and networking for young artists and to expand opportunities for promotion of their work to a larger audience.