Donate to the Atlanta Film Society
The Atlanta Film Society would be nothing without our volunteers, guests, collaborators, patrons, and sponsors. Your contributions go toward allowing us to sustain and improve year-round programming, as well as The Atlanta Film Festival. Below you will find testimonies of those who have attended some of our year-round educational programming and classes/workshops! We are a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Your contribution is tax-deductible.
Our Challenges
The pandemic followed by strikes and the state of the film industry as a whole has created new challenges for us to overcome. COVID-19 and the strikes has impacted us financially, limiting our impact on the film community. ATLFF has made some astonishing accomplishments over the last four decades, and the support of our community could play a big part in what we're able to do in the future. We also face the challenge of trying to raise this money while the whole nation is going through an economic crisis. Now more than ever, we need your help to continue to do what we do best: support independent filmmakers. We know you have a choice of organizations to support, and we are so thankful to be considered! Your help means the world to us.
Testimonials
"It was a great learning experience for my son and the instructors were all patient and kind." ~ Millicent C. (Mother of Sol C.)
"My son was able to get hands-on experience working on a film. It was a great experience for my son." ~ Jennifer H. (Mother of Micah G.)
"My nephew Ben looked forward to going every day. He found it challenging (in a good way) to be with students 3+ years older than him and with experience - as he had none - and learned so much. He really enjoyed the one-on-one with instructors, especially Charlie Fisk. He now has a vision of going to film school and a career in editing. Charlie Fisk and Melissa Simpson were two he mentioned a lot [instructors]. Good overview of the overall process of making a film." ~ Cindy A. (Aunt of Ben G.)
“Thank you for such an informative class. I learned so much about becoming a PA. Your willingness to share your wealth of knowledge is priceless! Chuck Thomas from ATL Film Chat told me to take your class over a year ago. I'm so glad I did! I'm ready to come up with a plan to transition out of my corporate job and into the film/television industry.” - Melanie M.
"I highly recommend this course, especially for beginners with little to no set experience. It not only gives you an idea of what to expect physically, but it also helps with mental preparedness. I wish I knew about a course like this when I first got into production. Thanks Linda. This is an awesome thing you are doing for the film community and it's so needed." - Royal E.
“I enjoyed my time at the PA Academy immensely, and I know others in the class feel exactly as I do, so thank you so much for putting them on three times a year. I feel so much more confident going into the industry than I did a week ago.” - Katie H.
"It [The Screenwriting Series with Kathy Berardi] taught me exactly the information I was missing to turn my ideas into screenplays. Very kind person who is also great at giving concise explanations. Everything you could want to know about writing and formatting a screenplay. For a month long course especially, nothing felt tedious. Delivered on every aspect, even what to do when you finished your screenplay. I learned everything I came in wanting to know." ~ Dean DiVitis
"It [Genre Feature Screenwriting 2: Scene Work] was AMAZING and insightful! Ruckus and Lane are beyond talented! They articulated the class clearly and the information was invaluable! I am extremely appreciative of the scholarship and I wanted to drop a line to you all at the Film Society to say a huge THANK YOU! Access has been a huge barrier for me, so this scholarship was certainly vital as I continue my journey as a screenwriter and filmmaker." ~ Samira Mariama
Classes & Workshops
Our Capstone Program The Atlanta Film Festival
At ATLFF, we pride ourselves on championing the voices of independent filmmakers. Whether they’re from our home state of Georgia or from one of the 30 countries that submitted to ATLFF’24 - we showcase stories of all sizes and colors. It’s our mission to empower the independent film community and to launch film careers. And thanks to our supporters, we’ve been able to do that for over 48 years!
The Atlanta Film Festival is the annual centerpiece of educational and enriching film programming that is provided year-round by its parent organization, the Atlanta Film Society (ATLFS). Now in its fifth decade, ATLFF is one of only a handful of film festivals worldwide that is Academy Award-qualifying in all three categories: live-action short, animation short, and documentary short subject.
As some of you may know, and many of you don’t - the ATLFF is an Academy Award®-qualifying festival, which means winners of our animated short, documentary short, and narrative short jury awards may qualify to be on a shortlist for Oscar® nominations. And at the 94th Academy Awards, thanks to winning the ATLFF’21 Jury Award Winner for Best Narrative Short, THE DRESS was nominated for Best Live Action Short. Our ATLFF’24 Georgia Short Film Award and Short Audience Award winner, MAKAYLA'S VOICE was picked up by Netflix.
As we said before, Georgia has become the powerhouse in production (Top 3, as a matter of fact), but you can’t have film & TV productions without the people who make that happen: the filmmakers themselves. For nearly 49 years, ATLFF has been a platform for empowering filmmakers.