MOSAIC EVENT

MOSAIC EVENT

Today we are experiencing an explosion of digital content creation throughout the world. The Mosaic Film Experience invites teachers and students to jump in and explore. As an educational opportunity that bridges to careers, this event helps students grasp how classroom learning can be applied to future careers they may never have considered.

Mosaic Event Highlights:

  • Diverse speakers from the world of digital media and entertainment share inspiration and insight with pre recorded and live content.
  • Increased social media outreach , live polling and open discussion forums
  • Inspiring student stories told through the Mosaic Mobile Short Film Competition
  • Exposure to new technology and creative platforms

This year, the Mosaic Film Experience event will be a hybrid model with some guests joining in Grand Rapids, and some remotely.
Following CDC recommendations and the lead of area school districts, we’ll have a live audience, if possible, but our
chief goal is to keep everyone safe and comfortable.

Join us on Thursday, November 3, 2022, at Celebration Cinema Studio Park –
123 Ionia SW Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

Students will experience a morning filled with engaging speakers from the worlds of tech, creative media, film and television production. 
Speakers will share what they do and how they found their way to jobs they love, creating amazing content—past guests have worked 
for companies like Electronic Arts, HBO, Marvel Entertainment, and Spotify.

This year, we will be joined by:

  • Marisa Arbona Ruiz, NBC correspondent and NPR Music critic 
  • Nicole Hendrix, the Bric Foundation, whose goal is to increase representation in entertainment, gaming, media, and tech 
  • Jane Feldman, an award-winning photojournalist 
  • Phillip Boutte Jr., Founder of 9B Collective the first Black-owned concept art studio

Students who attend will also be able to select from a series of interactive workshops. Here’s some we’re working on now:

  • Virtual Reality with Carlos Rosas, MUV, Mexico City (a remote international workshop)
  • Storytelling and Story Structure with
    Mike Saunders, WMCAT
  • CGI with Casual Simulation, Yeti
  • DJ History 101 with DJ Adrian Butler

Take a look at the MOSAIC FILM EXPERIENCE through the lens of educators and guests.

Our immersive digital experience helps open up possibilities for students by seeing the work of amazing local and national professionals and hearing their stories on how storytelling influenced their lives

An impressive list of guest speakers from across the film and digital media industries coalesced to provide high school students with an exclusive look at their work, career journey, and the importance of storytelling and creativity.

2021 Speakers

Here are some of the talented creative professionals who virtually inspired students at our 2021 Mosaic Event.

Follow the Mosaic Film Experience on social media to be first to find out what amazing speakers will join us in 2021!

Phillip Boutte Jr., 9B Collective 

Los Angeles-based 9B Collective is the first Black-owned concept art studio. 9B Collective has worked with Netflix, Marvel, HBO, Hulu, and Lucas Films Ltd. Boutte Jr.’s costume concept art can be seen in Hollywood blockbusters like Black Panther, A Wrinkle in Time, Inception, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2, The Greatest Showman, and The Hunger Games.

Robert Butler, Easy Breezy Productions

Robert Butler, the owner of Detroit-based Easy Breezy Productions, is helping to expand creative opportunities across the state. Butler shares his inspiration behind his most recent project, “Life Ain’t Nothing Like The Movies.”

Mimi Chakarova, Still I Rise Films, and Mariah Barrera, film student, Columbia University

Mimi Chakarova, a Bulgarian-American photographer and filmmaker and founder of Berkeley, California-based Still I Rise Films, a series of films directed and produced by women about ordinary people who, against all odds, continue to strive for dignity and justice.

Mariah Barrera is a 2019 City High-Middle School alumna who is returning to the Mosaic Event after winning first prize at the Mosaic Mobile competition in 2017 and 2019. Barrera has been recognized with more than 30 awards for her art, including the 2021 National YoungArts Foundation Finalist Winner in the Film category. Her films contextualize social justice and equity themes through the lens of her family’s experiences in the urban Midwest.

The Turner Brothers, Dreadhead Films

In 2014, at the age of 12, Justen formally created Columbus, Ohio-based Dreadhead Films when he produced, directed, and released his first short film, “iWitness Christmas,” which was screened at the Columbus International Film Festival and the Wexner Shorts Film Festival. In 2016, Justen and his brother Julien Turner, a writer, decided to partner together and move forward artistically, taking Dreadhead Films to the next level. The Turner Brothers have produced works for Sesame Street, Nike, Air Jordan, and Amazon.

Rolando Gonzalez, Runente

Rolando Gonzalez, the creative director of the Mexcio City-based agency Runente. Rolando manages branding and museum projects using augmented reality, interactivity, installations, animation, virtual reality and video mapping.

Lisa Oliver King and Lisa Mathis Allen, Branch Out Productions

The creative minds behind Los Angeles-based Branch Out Productions also talked with students about their experience making films and their commitment to creating jobs in West Michigan. The film “Block Party” was shot in Grand Rapids.

Please contact info@mosaicfilmexperience.com if you’d like to show the 2 hour “event” in your classroom and we’ll send you a personalized link.

Teachers Deck

Everyone has a story: Find out more about The Mosaic Film Experience and this years Online Event.

Curriculum

The Mosaic Film Experience gives teachers and students the opportunity to share in their educational journey in Media Literacy and Digital Storytelling.