The 12th annual North American All Youth Film and Education Day is a showcase for the top 37 youth-made short films in the United States and Canada.

Luckily for locals, this event is taking place in Sacramento.

It is being sponsored by the Tower of Youth, which is led by Bill Bronston. He's a Carmichael physician who is the founder-director of the organization and the California Digital Arts Studio Partnership.

The goal is to bring together a large number of young people and support them in gaining visual- communication experience.

He said teens who can communicate with their peers will be successful in any field they go into, whether it involves the media or not.

"Youth moviemaking is the most important expression of community responsibility," said Bronston. "The reason for this program is to demonstrate … an urgent need to modernize the entire California educational system so that every young person will develop digital mastery because digital mastery is the universal language of this century."

Teens host the show and serve as film judges. The films are broken into separate showcases, which run 60 to 90 minutes each.

Producers will be onstage to talk and answer questions during lunch, which is provided with admission.

Profiles of two local film producers

The Franklin High School senior heard about the All Youth Film Day through a teacher who encouraged her to participate.

At first, she opted to be a judge so she could participate in the festival without entering any material.

But Bronston wanted Woodburn to enter a film in the competition, and the rest is history.

Her film, "Remember Scooter," is a documentary chronicling the rise of a local band of the same name. It covers the group from the recording studio to a live performance.

Woodburn's angle was showing how it feels to be a teenager playing music. And when the energy rose in band practice, she turned on the camera.

There wasn't a lot of direction; she told band members to just be natural.

For Woodburn, filmmaking started as a hobby, but it's "slowly becoming more of a passion," she said.

She wants a career in the media and California State University, Long Beach, is looking like her college choice.

When asked to pick her favorite movie, Woodburn responded, "That one's hard!"

After thinking for a moment, she said she likes any kind of horror film from "cheesy and corny" to hard-core.

Megan Stacey

Also a Franklin High School senior, Stacey already had a connection to the festival.

Last spring she entered the regional competition and won the grand prize.

In addition to having a film in the competition, Stacey also participated as a judge. She said she learned a lot from the films, especially about what works and what doesn't.

Stacey's film, "Passer-by's," is an exploration of how everyone is connected without really knowing each other. She describes it as a "six degrees of separation" film inspired by "Crash," her favorite movie.

The filmmaking was exhausting. She did everything herself except the acting.

Stacey also loves the video-production club at her school, a club she and Woodburn serve as co-presidents.

She loves filmmaking so much, she's looking to pursue it as a career. She wants to "make an impact somewhere in the world."

Stacey isn't sure about where she wants to go to college.

Originally, she wanted to go to community college, but she recently decided she wants more of a challenge.

She thinks these two things – a new choice of school at a new location – will help her think outside the box.

When: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today.

Where: Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

Cost: $10 youths under 18, $15 adults.

Tickets available at the door starting at 8 a.m. Can also be seen via real-time webcast at www.towerofyouth.org