Mission Statement
Project Twenty1 has an EPIC mission. We Exhibit, Promote, Inspire, and Connect creatives through film and animation. We host film festivals,networking events, educational workshops, and competitions in the Greater Philadelphia area that attract participants from all over the world. We help to facilitate partnerships with other organizations, locally, regionally and globally to provide maximum exposure for our participants, community, and sponsors.
We seek to go beyond the standard conventions of a festival. We help unite the world of independent artists, allow them direct paths to their audiences, and at the same time build the cultural and artistic scene in Philadelphia and beyond.
We transform independent filmmaking from a trap-laden nightmare into an exciting adventure. We create a network of support, promotion, and distribution through which motivated filmmakers and artists can get their work seen internationally. And in the process, we witness the birth of exciting new creative relationships and truly original, entertaining films.
Description
Since 2006, Project Twenty1 has grown from a small filmmaking competition into a full-fledged international arts organization that houses a film festival, and diverse film library, as well as holding open community events in both Norristown where operations are based, and in Philadelphia.
This Pennsylvania-based non-profit has inspired the creation of hundreds of original films, presented nearly 1,000 independent shorts and features to audiences, and cultivated and an extremely loyal fan base.
The organization currently runs free or low-cost film industry events for the community at large, including the 21-Day Filmmaking Competition, The Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival (PFAF) which is an international film festival with educational workshops, and also has a Community Screener program which allows dedicated members of the community to help select the films for the festival.
In addition, Project Twenty1 is committed to revitalizing the Norristown Arts Community. As one of the founding partners of Norristown Arts Hill, which houses Project Twenty1's woman-run community building program (Susie Filmmaker) and educational internship program where students can earn college credit and learn about the real-world film industry.
Project Twenty1 is a catalyst, not only for artists' careers, but for the local economy. Project Twenty1's programs create jobs, build bridges between artistic disciplines, connect artists with business people, and stimulate economic growth in the region. With every event, Project Twenty1's sponsors, venues, rental houses, restaurants, and artists reap the rewards, financial and personal, from the flurry of activity.
Even more importantly, with the right support, Project Twenty1 can become financially self-sustaining. To serve the growing community that demands more attention each day, Project Twenty1's explosive popularity and programs have turned into an 80-hour-a-week unpaid responsibility for its founders, which means that the company will not be able to operate or expand without community support. Monetary support is always welcome and very much needed, but it is absolutely necessary that this organization has a key group of responsible, hard working, respectful and dedicated volunteers, who have a passion for the arts to work with Project Twenty1 and bring the organization up to the next level.
