Oklahoma film camp builds access—and award-winning young filmmakers

At Webster High School, students spent the week writing, directing, and filming original short films through the Keepin’ It Reel summer camp. The program, created by Dr. Tamecca Rogers, gives young people hands-on experience in the film industry.

What is “Keepin’ It Reel”?

Rogers says there are two tracks: one for narrative storytelling, called Script 2 Screen, and one focused on documentaries, called Truth to Screen. Each student, ages 9 to 18, was put in a production crew, paired with an award-winning mentor.

“They all have different scripts that they’ve completed, and they are actually filming them,” Rogers said. “When this camp is over, they’ll have at least a five to eight-minute short film.”

Why is this camp necessary?

Rogers says she started the camp after noticing a lack of diversity in acting classes she took with her son. “How can I be the solution? So my solution is to create a camp for us by us,” she said.

The camp also exposes students to behind-the-scenes careers like set design and makeup. “You don’t know what you don’t know, right?” Rogers said. “We had a person that built sets for Wakanda.”

More than anything, Rogers hopes the camp teaches perseverance. “Just because one thing happens to you doesn’t mean everything has to stop,” she said. “We just have to find a different way.”

Award-Winning Films and What’s Next

Last year’s student films won multiple international awards, including a documentary they shot about Oklahoma’s first women to sign a college flag football school. Rogers says this year’s work is even stronger.

“We plan to keep that going,” she said.

The short films shot by campers this week will premiere at Circle Cinema in July before being submitted to festivals around the world.