Fledgling Films was organized in 1997 as a division of Kingdom County Productions to focus and express the imaginative power of young people through hands-on media arts workshops and production. Through its programs, Fledgling Films also works to foster collaboration, leadership skills, artistic craft, and an appreciation for Northern New England's natural beauty, cultural vitality, and community spirit.

"By the time an American student turns 18, he or she will have watched an average of 25,000 hours of television-more time than was spent in the classroom-and seen nearly a million advertisements. Children and young adults are groomed to be submissive consumers of media, responsive to its lucrative markets, and not creative, thoughtful makers of their own images."-- writer and filmmaker Kathryn Hunt in a special report, Why Fund Media?, issued by the Council on Foundations.

Since its formation in 1991, Kingdom County Productions has worked in the fields of media arts education and production -- to precisely address this issue. Fledgling Films helps young people find new voice and a critical perspective on media. Recent e-mails from past Fledgling kids underscore this point.

Richard Tanne, a 2000 Fledgling student, wrote from SUNY Purchase in New York, where he attends a rigorous film conservatory, to say that he wrote and directed an Off-Broadway play this past summer and spent the fall semester shooting two films on 16 mm. He said, "After Fledgling, I knew filmmaking was what I wanted to do with my life and I have not let up since."

Samantha Tsuji, a two year Fledgling student on full-scholarship from Ohio, recently let us know that she's pursuing film at Marlboro College next fall, and credits Fledgling Films with her decision. She wrote that Fledgling "helped me grow not only as a filmmaker, but as a person... the passion, talent and knowledge that you and your students have for filmmaking has been continuously inspirational."