Princeville, N.C. – Kinston native and award-winning film director Resita Cox and her team return to Princeville this summer to host their third annual Freedom Hill Youth Media Camp (FHYMC). Applications are open April 15 - May 31, 2024 for students 14 to 19 years old to apply.

The four-week documentary production program connects NC students to Princeville's Black history through conducting interviews, learning oral history skills, exploring archives and learning the basics of documentary filmmaking. The camp culminates in a short participatory documentary about Princeville’s annual Homecoming Celebration. 

“One of my goals for starting this camp was to create a direct pathway for young Black people to become filmmakers in Eastern North Carolina,” said Cox. “If we want to change the stories being told and how we are remembered, we have to change the storytellers.”

From July 23 - Aug 15 2024, the team will welcome a new cohort of eight North Carolina students interested in learning more about environmental racism, history, and documentary filmmaking. Unlike traditional media programs that typically charge tuition, students receive stipends of up to $1000 for their work. 

The idea was born from Cox’s experience in high school media programs and as a young Black journalist turned filmmaker. Her debut film, Freedom Hill, explores the environmental racism washing away Princeville, NC- the first town incorporated by freed, formerly enslaved Africans in America. The acclaimed film toured over 20 film festivals across the country and was named Best Documentary Short at the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival and Best Short on Sustainability at DC’s Environmental Film Festival. Freedom Hill was recently acquired by PBS and will enjoy a national premiere on WORLDCHANNEL and AFROPOP on Earth Day,  4/22/24.

Since its inception in 2022, the camp has gone from a grassroots operation funded by Cox to an official program of Freedom Org, a Tarboro based nonprofit committed to creating self-sustaining and equitable communities. The partnership has enabled FHYMC to double the number of campers it accepts each year.

“It’s unbelievable that we are going into our third year. I started this camp with little to nothing. Now we have organizational support and the ability to impact more kids, and that means everything,” said Cox.