About
True West Summer Film Camps focus on creating short movies for the big screen, guiding campers through script, shooting, and beyond with hands-on filmmaking experience. Sessions include narrative filmmaking, mockumentary filmmaking, and producing 3-minute short films that move through pre-production, production, and post-production. Depending on the session, campers also take part in activities such as digital art, kayaking, improv, cartooning, Minecraft modding, and art projects.
• Ages: 7–17 years old
• Schedule: Most sessions for ages 7–12 run for five full days, and the Future Filmmakers Camp for ages 13–17 is a half-day experience over two weeks.
In digital art sessions, campers create digital art with tools to design characters, creatures, and backgrounds inspired by games and cartoons, using layers, timing, and frame-by-frame techniques. Kayaking sessions with River’s Edge include discovering the Russian River’s unique ecology and developing leadership skills. Cartooning and comic book sessions cover drawing the face and body of characters, bringing characters to life through expression and emotion, and studying line, shape, form, and exaggeration while creating original characters, stories, and comics. Gaming-focused sessions use MCreator for Minecraft modding so campers can create custom items, blocks, biomes, game mechanics, and build their own working Minecraft mod. Art sessions involve exploring ideas with a variety of materials and collaborating with other campers.
Teen Filmmaking Camp is a two-week, half-day filmmaking workshop where teen campers experience a variety of roles involved in filmmaking and develop building blocks of media literacy. Teen projects include a one-shot film project, a short narrative film project, and a short documentary film project. Each camper receives a credit on their film as a first step in creating or building their own portfolio. Scholarships are available for True West Summer Film Camps.
True West Film Center was founded in 2014 and is described as the only theater of its kind serving Sonoma, Mendocino, Napa, and Lake Counties. The James Redford Campus is described as a state-of-the-art film center in Sonoma County. Camps are led by Director of Education Heather Murray and teaching artists Sandro Oliva and Pamela Kennemore. True West Film Center’s mission states that it brings the transformative power of cinema to Northern California, removes barriers to film and media arts, supports artists, educates students of all ages, and creates joy through entertainment while fostering a community where everyone belongs.
True West Film Center partners with schools, nonprofits, and community groups to cultivate a welcoming, accessible space for all, and River’s Edge Kayak and Canoe is described as a partner organization providing complementary activities such as kayaking. True West Summer Film Camps are described as offering the ultimate summer experience for budding filmmakers in the North Bay and serving Northern California’s rural North Bay region. A cornerstone of True West Film Center’s mission is to ensure that historically underserved communities have equitable access to film and media arts education, and strategic initiatives prioritize outreach to marginalized populations. The organization offers Spanish-language programming, discounted tickets for seniors and low-income residents, parent-friendly “Cine-baby” programming, and Sensory Sensitivity Screenings.
Last updated May 20, 2026.
• Ages: 7–17 years old
• Schedule: Most sessions for ages 7–12 run for five full days, and the Future Filmmakers Camp for ages 13–17 is a half-day experience over two weeks.
In digital art sessions, campers create digital art with tools to design characters, creatures, and backgrounds inspired by games and cartoons, using layers, timing, and frame-by-frame techniques. Kayaking sessions with River’s Edge include discovering the Russian River’s unique ecology and developing leadership skills. Cartooning and comic book sessions cover drawing the face and body of characters, bringing characters to life through expression and emotion, and studying line, shape, form, and exaggeration while creating original characters, stories, and comics. Gaming-focused sessions use MCreator for Minecraft modding so campers can create custom items, blocks, biomes, game mechanics, and build their own working Minecraft mod. Art sessions involve exploring ideas with a variety of materials and collaborating with other campers.
Teen Filmmaking Camp is a two-week, half-day filmmaking workshop where teen campers experience a variety of roles involved in filmmaking and develop building blocks of media literacy. Teen projects include a one-shot film project, a short narrative film project, and a short documentary film project. Each camper receives a credit on their film as a first step in creating or building their own portfolio. Scholarships are available for True West Summer Film Camps.
True West Film Center was founded in 2014 and is described as the only theater of its kind serving Sonoma, Mendocino, Napa, and Lake Counties. The James Redford Campus is described as a state-of-the-art film center in Sonoma County. Camps are led by Director of Education Heather Murray and teaching artists Sandro Oliva and Pamela Kennemore. True West Film Center’s mission states that it brings the transformative power of cinema to Northern California, removes barriers to film and media arts, supports artists, educates students of all ages, and creates joy through entertainment while fostering a community where everyone belongs.
True West Film Center partners with schools, nonprofits, and community groups to cultivate a welcoming, accessible space for all, and River’s Edge Kayak and Canoe is described as a partner organization providing complementary activities such as kayaking. True West Summer Film Camps are described as offering the ultimate summer experience for budding filmmakers in the North Bay and serving Northern California’s rural North Bay region. A cornerstone of True West Film Center’s mission is to ensure that historically underserved communities have equitable access to film and media arts education, and strategic initiatives prioritize outreach to marginalized populations. The organization offers Spanish-language programming, discounted tickets for seniors and low-income residents, parent-friendly “Cine-baby” programming, and Sensory Sensitivity Screenings.
Last updated May 20, 2026.
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