Amaris Mitchell is a program director, curriculum designer, and TV and Film practitioner based in Essex County, NJ. With 7+ years of experience in written, oral and visual storytelling, she aims to foster equity within underserved communities through the avenues of arts, education and media.

FILM EDUCATION

November 2022 FilmBoot24 GRAND JURY PRIZE FILM: Positive

#BTS of Orange High School students filming for their horror film project!

2022 Orange Youth Shine Bright Film Festival 1st Place – $500 Award:
My Friend Julie

Empowering junior filmmakers as a CinemaEd mentor at Orange High School led me to take on the role of Director of Community Affairs, expanding the program’s reach across Essex County, NJ. Leveraging industry connections, I recruited film professionals to evaluate student films, bridging academia and real-world insights.

DIGITAL NEWS MEDIA

In US news and current events today, a huge story in US politics is the 2020 election. The 2020 presidential candidates in the 2020 race for president in the Democratic field sat down with NowThis to explain their top issue in their presidential 2020 campaign.

Credits: Associate Producer, 2020

What most Americans know as a “traditional” burial takes a big toll on our environment, so what should we do with our bodies when we die? Find out on this episode of One Small Step.

Credits: Camera Operator, 2019

Believe it or not, there’s a pretty good chance that both the pilot and co-pilot have fallen asleep during your flight. Here’s a look at autopilot technology and how autopilot works.

Credits: 1st Assistant Camera, 2019

WRITING AND DIRECTING

Nominated for Best Short Film at the 2019 Newark International Film Festival, ‘An Uber Ride,’ is a short dramatic satire piece about three people sharing an Uber Pool from Newark Penn Station.

Credits: Writer and Director, 2019

Black Girl Beach Day: The Summer is Ours campaign video.

Black girls shine all year round but especially in the summer. We’re finally met with an ultralight beam as warm as us.
Each year, the shore calls us home and we call back.
Like crystals on an ancestral altar,
We gaze to the sun, reach out and recharge
We believe to get free, we must get together.
Shake off our sorrows and shake a tailfeather.
Down boardwalks we ride, through sand, we strut...

Credits: Copywriter, 2020

DOCUMENTARY

M or F is a short film that promotes the visibility of transgender men and women, as well as those outside of the gender binary.

Credits: Co-Director and Co-Producer, 2015

A short conversational piece about gender-based discrimination and harassment.

Credits: Co-Director and Co-Producer, 2016

WHAT FELLOW FILM EDUCATORS ARE SAYING

“My experience working with Amaris has been nothing but stellar, based on her professionalism, creativity, and grace working on various classroom projects and also the weekend film contest, for Cinema Ed, Film Boot 24.”

— Danielle E.

“There are many examples of Amaris’ teaching skills. One that comes to mind is her mentoring of A’Rina B. at Orange HS. Two years ago, during our DocFilmBoot program, A’Rina began working on a “participatory documentary” that involved numerous interviews, posing a question about race and attitudes towards women.

Amaris advised and helped her in the process, and “My Friend Julie” went on to win a film festival judged by industry professionals. A’Rina graduated this year with a full scholarship to Fairleigh Dickinson University where she will study film.”

— Richard Stephen Bell