Premiere the Positive is a youth film festival created by BATS (Bringing Awareness to Students). This film festival gave middle through high school aged students the opportunity to form teams of 2-6 to create short films less than 4 minutes long. Teams were given 48 hours to complete the film and were required to use items in a curated mystery box.

At BATS, we believe conquering the scary helps find the beauty in life and the light at the end of the tunnel. Films were to focus on the team’s interpretation of the theme “What’s Up Danger” and highlight positivity, which means flipping the norm and facing fears to find positivity on the other side. The festival focused on facing issues commonly seen as intimidating.

After the films were created, edited, and submitted to BATS through Google Drive, they premiered at a neon-themed gala open to the community the following Monday. Teams had a chance to win over $1000 in prizes at the event, awarded by featured guest judges. Judges included Springfield High School graduate and Empire State Building Social Media Content Creator, Thomas Edwards, and Jimmy Fallon writer, Sage Boggs. This event was an unforgettable night of youth highlighting the positive.