Light House Studio at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Light House Studio was founded in 1999 by a group of local filmmakers, artists, and educators who began with a small pilot workshop, “Video Diary.” Since then we have helped youth create thousands of documentaries, dramas, and animated films. Our student work has been broadcast on PBS, CNN, IFC, and TNT. Work has been exhibited at the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, Second Street Gallery, and Live Arts, among others. Light House films have been shown in festivals all over the United States. Many of our students have received national awards for their films, including a Peabody Award, a Gold World Medal at the New York Festivals World’s Best TV & Films, and a CINE Golden Eagle Award.We have collaborated with many local nonprofits, including The International Rescue Committee; Children Youth and Family Services; Boys and Girls Club; The Music Resource Center; Live Arts; Second Street Gallery; The Virginia Film Festival; Public Housing Association of Residents; UNICEF’s Tap Project; Central Virginia Burn Camp; Big Brothers Big Sisters; the Shenandoah National Park Trust; as well as Ivy Creek School, Tandem Friends School, the Community Homeschool Enrichment Center, St. Anne’s-Belfield, and Walker Scholars. Light House is a member of Virginians for the Arts, the Virginia Production Alliance, The Center for Nonprofit Excellence, and The Alliance.We provide uncensored, mentored workshops in digital filmmaking and exhibition opportunities to young people, enabling them to learn, by hand, the pervasive language of motion pictures and sound. We challenge our students to be active participants in the media, and not simply passive consumers of the millions of images they see everyday.