Outside The Frame

By Kyle Andrews

Outside The Frame

        Outside The Frame is local organization whose goal is to change the homeless and marginalized youth are perceived, both by themselves and by the outside world. Through technical film education, OTF provides young people with the tools to direct their own projects while simultaneously directing the perception of the public while also introducing concepts of direction that could be applied to their personal lives. The technical training is also an employable skill that is highly relevant in the current workforce, while the creative aspect of filmmaking is therapeutic. It allows a space for the participants to reflect in a controlled and productive way. Perhaps the most valuable thing that OTF has to offer is an audience to a predominantly disenfranchised community. By allowing young people in the program to not only speak their own truths, but to allow them to reach beyond their surrounding to communicate to a more general audience is invaluable. The screenings of their work is highly beneficial in reducing the stigma associated with homelessness while also instilling confidence in the filmmakers. OTF and humanity affirming organizations like it, are invaluable to creating a line of empathetic connection. Steps towards understanding which could lead to a solution for homeless youth.