Wednesday evening, at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan, an annual tradition continued — but the stories celebrated felt anything but traditional. The 2025 edition of the Reel Works ChangeMakers Gala brought together filmmakers, educators, industry leaders and donors to support a singular mission: expanding access to filmmaking and media careers for young people who rarely see themselves represented on screen — or behind the camera.
At the center of the evening was Reel Works, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that has quietly shaped a generation of young creatives since 2001. Its programs offer free training in screenwriting, editing, directing and production to high school students from historically underserved communities. What sets Reel Works apart is its focus on mentorship: students are paired with professional filmmakers who help guide them not only through the technical aspects of filmmaking, but through the process of discovering their own voice.
For many participants, it’s a first step into an industry that can seem impossibly distant. Yet, over the years, Reel Works alumni have gone on to work in television, digital media, and independent film. Some even return to mentor the next generation.
The gala itself serves a dual purpose: to raise funds for Reel Works’ expanding programs, and to celebrate those who have helped shift the cultural landscape in media. This year, the organization presented its ChangeMaker Award to actor and comedian Kenan Thompson, whose decades-long career — from Nickelodeon to Saturday Night Live — has made him a familiar and influential figure across generations.
The evening was hosted by Ego Nwodim, also from Saturday Night Live, known not only for her comedic timing but for her growing presence in cultural conversations around representation.
As in past editions, the night featured short films created by Reel Works students. These aren’t exercises or class projects — they are personal, often urgent works, many of which reflect experiences rarely shown in mainstream media: coming of age in public housing, navigating identity, surviving grief, finding joy in unlikely places. For those in the audience, many of whom work in or fund the entertainment industry, the screenings can feel both intimate and quietly confrontational.
In an industry still shaped by exclusion and access barriers, Reel Works offers a different model — one that doesn’t ask permission or seek to fit young voices into established molds, but instead helps build platforms for new ones. The organization has grown steadily over two decades, supported by both public and private funding, and is now part of a broader conversation about equity and authorship in American media.
The ChangeMakers Gala, though just one night, is a reminder that meaningful cultural work often happens at the margins — and that stories told from the inside out are not only more honest, but more necessary.
