Now offering a Junior Mentor enrollment option for high school students!
Film Fest
_Girls in STEM______
Girls in STEM Film Festival
September 19-21, 2025
Lights, Camera, Action! Join the exciting collaboration between Keystone Science School and Breckenridge Film Festival for Girls in STEM: Film Fest, an empowering weekend tailored for theatrical 4th-8th grade female and non-binary students!
From captivating storytelling to the magic of cinematography and film editing, participants will hone their skills in every aspect of the filmmaking process. They will hear from inspirational women in all aspects of the film industry, sharing their triumphs and challenges in breaking barriers in a male-dominated field. Empower your child to script their own success story in STEM while unleashing their inner Greta Gerwig at the Girls in STEM: Film Festival!
The students will create their own short film, and at the close of the program, girls will present their short films during a scheduled event included within the Breckenridge Film Festival schedule. All families will receive free entry to the final presentation.
Rates & Amenities
This program is subsidized on a sliding fee scale for local families – see the chart below. This price includes lodging in our dorms, all meals, programming and use of supplies and technology.
| Free & Reduced Lunch rate | $60 |
| CHP+ (Child Health Plan Plus) rate | $190 |
| Fully Pay rate | $350 |
| High School Junior Mentor | $125 |
Scholarships & Financial Assistance
If you have a financial barrier, please apply for a scholarship for the Girls in STEM program. All scholarships will be determined on a rolling basis and offered based on financial need.
High School Junior Mentors
This year we are offering a “Junior Mentor” enrollment option for high school students – a leadership opportunity designed for female and non-binary students who are interested in film, storytelling, and mentoring younger kids.
Junior Mentors will support a group of students through the process of creating and developing their short film. Students best suited for this role may have been to another Girls in STEM program or have experience in film and theater. If this sounds like you, head to the application to learn more and submit by September 1st!
Transportation
We offer free transportation to local students at Dillon Valley Elementary and Silverthorne Elementary!
- KSS pickup students from school on Friday afternoon at 4:00pm from Silverthorne Elementary and Dillon Valley Elementary.
- Family Pickup in Breckenridge at the Film Fest on Sunday or drop-off back at Silverthorne Elementary & Dillon Valley Elementary
Packing List
Program Schedule
Please note that this program schedule may change based on the availability of our STEM Mentors.
KSS will be providing meals from dinner on Friday night to lunch on Sunday afternoon.
Friday
Sept. 19
| 4:00pm | Check-in begins |
| 4:00pm | Local Pick-ups |
| 5:00pm | Check-in ends |
| 5:30pm | Female Empowerment Conversation |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Film 101 |
| 8:30pm | Head back to dorms |
| 9:30pm | Lights Out |
Saturday
Sept. 20
| 8:00am | Breakfast |
| 9:15am | Filming at KSS |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 12:30pm | Editing 101 |
| 2:00pm | Mentor Q&A Session |
| 3:00pm | Editing |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Mini Film Fest |
| 8:30pm | Head back to dorms |
| 9:30pm | Lights Out |
Sunday
Sept. 21
| 8:00am | Breakfast |
| 9:15am | Movie Poster Project Work Time |
| 11:00am | Female Empowerment Activity |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Red Carpet at River Walk Center |
| 1:30pm | Film Screening |
| 2:30pm | Departure/Pick Up at Breck Film Fest |
| 3:00pm | Local drop-offs |
STEM Mentors
A variety of female professionals will be interacting with all participating girls throughout the weekend. Read more below about this year’s mentors!
Sheila M. Sofian
Producer & Animation Professor
Sheila M. Sofian’s films are a hybrid of documentary and animation. She has produced seven independent animated short films and one feature. Sofian is currently a Professor at the University of Southern California where she is the director of the Expanded Animation Research + Practice program.
Carrie Lederer
Filmmaker, Producer & Cinematographer
Carrie Lederer is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, and cinematographer who picked up a video camera in college to focus on environmental issues—work that led to her first job at CNN, where she covered global events and environmental reporting from 1991 to 1994. She left CNN to join the Peace Corps, spending over three years in the Comoros Islands and Senegal as a media specialist and environmental educator. Carrie went on to create documentaries and social impact films for organizations including the United Nations, Smithsonian Institution, and U.S. State Department, addressing global topics like HIV/AIDS, biodiversity, and climate change.
Read More
She also produced, directed, shot, and edited independent documentaries worldwide, as well as documentary and reality series for major networks including National Geographic, History Channel, Discovery, and more. Carrie even hosted her own Travel Channel series, Not Your Average Travel Guide, playing all production roles. Her latest award-winning documentary, Wild Horses at the Door, is currently screening at the Breckenridge Film Festival. Passionate about purpose-driven storytelling, she also teaches digital storytelling to science and sustainability students, helping connect data with emotion—an approach she brings to mentoring the next generation of Girls in STEM. For fun, Carrie is often exploring with a still camera in hand—traveling, hiking, skiing, scuba diving, riding her bike no-handed, dancing, or performing improv theatre.
Ash Blodgett
Director
Ash Blodgett is an award-winning director passionate about telling stories that spotlight modern social issues through the lens of comedy. Her short films have screened at major festivals such as the Santa Barbara, Catalina, Sedona, and SIDEWALK Film Festivals. Her 2023 short Good Grief won Best Cinematography at the Worldwide Women’s Film Festival, earning a $60K Panavision film grant, and she was named Best Female Director at the 2024 Central Coast International Film Festival.
Jamie Schwarz
Actor, Writer & Director
Jaime Schwarz is an actor, writer, director living in NYC. She grew up doing Musica Theatre and started off as an actor appearing in shows such as “Jane the Virgin”, “Younger”, “Difficult People”, and most recently “Elsbeth”. During the pandemic, she started writing her own scripts, eventually making her own films and directing. She loves what she does and doesn’t consider the creative parts work, but outside of writing and acting, she enjoys cooking, yoga, watching films/theatre, crocheting, and finding a great breakfast burrito!
Thank you to our Program Partners!
Special thanks to Breckenridge Film Festival and HP for being partners for this program!
If you are interested in supporting this program please contact our Development team at development@keystonescienceschool.org or call 970-468-2098.
In the words of parents
“No phones. Dedicated time to focus on self. Reminders about gratitude. Getting in touch with nature. The counselors are strong, sweet, great role models.”
“My kid looks forward to this every year! It is so important for her to get out of her usual routine and meet new people and get a chance to be on her own.”
“We love KSS. The growth our kids have each summer is priceless. Thank you for all the hard work, planning and everything that goes into what you do!”
Check out more All-Girls programs at KSS!
Adventures is the next step in progression at KSS, and we have girls-only trips coming up next summer!
We also have more Girls in STEM programs coming up, including Water Wonders this October!
All-Girls Climbing
Grades 6th-8th
Girls in STEM Snow Science
January 24-26, 2025