26th Annual Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Film Festival

This event does not require a reservation; see further details below.

Join us for the premiere screening of Community Art Center’s 26th Annual Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Film Festival, the longest-running youth film festival in the country. A panel discussion with the teen filmmakers and a short reception in the Calderwood Courtyard will follow the screening.

Community Art Center has served residents of the Port neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, since 1937. The organization ensures that youth in the neighborhood have the same access to arts experiences as the youth of other communities in Cambridge. The center became known as a space for young people to explore creative expression and build their narrative storytelling abilities. In 1996, six teen girls at the center decided they’d had enough of the lack of representation and the misrepresentation they were seeing in the media. They picked up cameras and began to tell their own stories, creating a film festival that is hyperlocal but has a national reach.

The film screening will begin at 6pm in Menschel Hall, Lower Level. Doors will open at 5:30pm at the 480 Broadway entrance.

Free admission, but seating is limited. Advance reservations are encouraged and will open on Friday, May 19, after 10am. Walk-in visitors are always welcome, if space allows. Please note that a standby line will be available for those without reservations.

Limited complimentary parking is available in the Broadway Garage, 7 Felton Street, Cambridge.

Support for this program is provided by the Richard L. Menschel Endowment Fund.

Please see the museum visit page to learn about our general policies for visiting the museums.

The Harvard Art Museums are committed to accessibility for all visitors. For anyone requiring accessibility accommodations for our programs, please contact us at am_register@harvard.edu at least 48 hours in advance.