After a few last minute changes, the Mobile Movie Makers Youth Film Festival (M3) is coming to Georgia State University’s Creative Media Industries Institute on Nov. 13.
M3, which is a mobile film competition and festival aimed at middle and high school students, was originally scheduled for Oct. 17 at Microsoft’s Campus in Atlantic Station. According to an Instagram post, “unforeseen circumstances” left the festival without a venue, but Georgia State University stepped in at the last minute.
“Words cannot express our gratitude,” reads the post. “The outpouring of love and support from our community has been extraordinary, reminding us that our mission to empower the next generation of storytellers is bigger than any obstacle.”
Due to the last-minute venue change, the festival will not screen any of the student films this year. Founder Sahar Simmons said the festival plans to “deal with each student privately and honor them either this summer or the following festival.”
“Unfortunately, due to unexpected last-minute venue and infrastructure changes, we will not be screening films this year,” Sahar said in an email. “Instead, we made the decision to focus on curating an incredible festival experience that gives students meaningful opportunities to learn, connect, and be inspired.”
Founded in 2018, M3 aims to empower Georgia students to tell stories and make films using something most of them already have at their disposal – a phone. Simmons’ background is in film and television, but she said she’s always been passionate about youth advocacy.
“Coming from television and film, I’ve always had a heart for youth,” she said. “I realized that there was a gap between youth consuming content every single day and understanding that they can actually create it, and potentially [build] careers around it.
Simmons believes that phones help democratize filmmaking for young people. Through M3, she hopes to meet students where they are and expand their ideas as to what they can use their phone to do.
“Almost every young person understands a phone,” she said. “They may not understand everything that a device can unlock creatively, but we want to move them from scrolling and consuming to creating, directing, writing, producing, and thinking strategically about content.”
The festival runs Nov. 13 from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. and will feature all-day panels and workshops about topics like gaming, set design, songwriting, music business, acting, and more. The full schedule of panels and workshops can be found on M3’s website. According to Simmons, each student’s schedule is tailored directly to their interests.
“They had an opportunity to fill out an application and select their top choices – music, television, film, technology, and AI,” Simmons said. “From that point on, we go ahead and curate the rest of their schedules.”
Simmons said she hopes to see M3 expand beyond the festival. The organization has started building out a program it calls the M3 Youth Film Crew, which consists of high school students who get the chance to cover real events using their mobile phones. Last year, students flew to Houston, Texas to cover the 2025 National Battle of the Bands, said Simmons.
“It’s not just about making movies, but really about youth finding their voice,” she said. “Atlanta is one of the world’s entertainment capitals, and these youth deserve a pathway into this industry.”
