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Last night I had the pleasure of attending a special evening with the nonprofit organization Scenarios USA. I hadn’t heard of the organization before this week but they’ve been boosting young voices for a decade now. They host annual screenplay contests for under-served high schoolers, encouraging them to write about topics that affect their lives. The themes are assigned to the students, but they’re broad ones such as ‘growing up in the time of HIV/AIDS’ and ‘romance and relationships’.

It’s up to the participating teenagers to give the themes shape using their own voices, experiences, and imagination. Scenarios then pairs the winning high schoolers with professional filmmakers who then donate their time and talent to making the short films with the writers. It’s a simple concept but the rewards are vast for all involved: the kids, the professionals, and –I’m especially happy to report – the audience too.

There were four winning films. In brief: The Choices We Make written by Brooklynite Tiara Bennett was the story of an unplanned pregnancy. Tiara was paired with talented Jesus’ Son director Alison Maclean. Who I Am from Florida’s Whitney Peters was about two young women with strong voices but tentative identities. Jesse Peretz (The Ex) was hoping he’d be assigned (and was!) as Whitney’s director. Me, Myself and I, was written by Caroline Boon and details a young girl’s struggles with promiscuity and self confidence. The director was Eva Vives (she previously worked on the great underseen indie Raising Victor Vargas). Reflections, which has already aired on the BET network, was written by Keyana Ray and tells the story of three friends struggling with how to navigate their sex lives after an HIV/AIDS education activist visits their school.

What I found most impressive about the movies was their shared honesty. There was specificity of feeling and lived-in truth on display. I was reminded listening to the writers speak after the films were screened about how often you can recognize the transference of personality from creative person to their work. Caroline (Me Myself and I) was quick to make jokes and I wasn’t at all surprised since her film was the most comedic in tone. Bright and serious Whitney (Who I Am) had big ideas -- several of them simultaneously according to her director --and sure enough, her film was chalk full of big ones, allowing racism, class issues, gentrification and homophobia to crash into each other for the story's drama. Keyana (Reflections) spoke proudly of Maywood, Illinois and shared that she was the first person to shoot a film in her hometown. Her film reflected this sense of community as its trio of girlfriends leaned on each other for support and dealt with the same tough issues. Finally, there was Tiara (The Choices We Make) who was as driven, and no-nonsense as the strong young woman in her film. I asked her if her idea had changed or if it came to her instantly? She was bluntly honest in her response, explaining that the writing contest was a class assignment. She delivered my favorite quip of the evening. Realizing the contest deadline was looming so she wrote it quickly, exclaiming “Oh snap! I didn’t do my project!”

The directors were quick to praise the young writers. The collaborative filmmaking process was a hot topic of the evening. Most of them felt that their job was really to make sure the screenplay drafts got really focused before shooting began since they only had two days to shoot each film. Jesse Peretz amusingly talked about assuming he’d be mentoring Whitney and realizing that he was the one learning from her. The directors were quite like proud artistic parents. But at events of this sort there’s actual parents on hand, too. I ended up chatting with Adrienne, Whitney’s mom. She was beaming, friendly, and understandably proud for her daughter.

The night with Scenario USA reminded me of two important things. First, you can find inspiration anywhere. Even topics that are naturally heavy or potentially depressing like teenage pregnancy, STDs, and the trial and error –mostly error –of building your identity in the face of numerous obstacles can lift the spirit if they’re approached with the right mix of honesty and genuine feeling. And finally, there’s this: there are few things as thrilling to live through, watch or help along the way as creative expression. By the end of the evening I was most envious of the filmmakers who were able to help these talented teenagers find their artistic voices.

[These new films aren't available online but you can watch previous Scenarios USA short films here]