Our Journey
The Rockland Youth Film Festival (RYFF for short) was created by the kids at the EELEF After-School Center as a way to showcase the wonderful films that are made by young people worldwide. The EELEF After-School Center, located in Spring Valley, NY, is a licensed 501c(3) nonprofit organization. It offers kids in grades K-12 a homework help center that provides academic support and enrichment activities after school. The services offered at EELEF are free of charge to all residents of Spring Valley Commons, a community that provides safe and affordable housing, with a prime focus on family development and on-site educational enrichment.
Our story began a few years ago, when our after-school center received a grant that enabled them to build a film studio for kids. We were so excited to dive into moviemaking and virtually taught ourselves how to make short films. During the first summer, we spent countless hours watching “how to” videos on YouTube and ran around our community playground pretending to be kings and queens from a distant land. “Quiet on the set!” could be heard echoing across the buildings; it was truly a time of endless fun.
After a couple of years of learning how to make movies and some really fun productions under our belt, we realized that we needed a way to showcase and share our films. At the same time, we learned there were other kids like us in our community and around the world…. and on one afternoon with our group at the table, the Rockland Youth Film Festival was born.
Donations are still being accepted and are greatly appreciated
Come out and support our children and their efforts
Teach2Know 
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