Scenarios USA returns to Laredo
with writing contest

Scenarios USA returns to Laredo with the launch of the "What's the Real Deal?" Writing Contest. This year, Scenarios USA partners with Region One Educational Service Center to bring the Contest to middle and high school age students from Laredo to Brownsville.
"What's the Real Deal?" is an annual scriptwriting contest, sponsored by Scenarios USA, for young people age 12-22 living in the Río Grande Valley. The contest asks participants to write stories about relationships and personal behavior. Winning students get partnered with prominent filmmakers (such as Michael Apted [Gorillas in the Mist] and Doug Liman [The Bourne Identity]) to produce their stories into short films that are in turn distributed nationwide. Scenarios USA films have been aired on MTV, Showtime, and the Sundance Channel, and have been featured on ABC's World News Tonight.
The purpose of the contest is to help young people make safer and healthier decisions about their lives and relationships by giving them a creative forum with which to explore their own identity, engage difficult questions about personal choices and their consequences, and weave stories from their experiences.
"I applaud Scenarios USA for developing a creative program that encourages our youth to learn and give thought to issues in their lives such as pregnancy and HIV prevention," said Mayor Betty Flores. "Our community can learn much by listening to our young people, and Scenarios USA gives them a forum to be heard here and around the country. We welcome Scenarios USA back to Laredo."
To enter "What's the Real Deal?", students submit a short script, story, poem, or song on a broad range of matters, such as relationships, friendship, pregnancy, love, HIV/AIDS, abstinence, responsibility, and making decisions. They are encouraged to write submissions that are honest and depict their lives and their communities. The eadline for submissions is December 10, 2003. Most students will be introduced to the contest as part of a class or after-school group. They can also write on their own. For more information, participants can log onto www.scenariosusa.org, ask their Drama, Language Arts, or Health teachers, call Scenarios USA toll free at 1-866-414-1044, or e-mail info@scenariosusa.org.
In 2001-2002, Scenarios USA engaged hundreds of teens in the Río Grande Valley to participate in the "What's the Real Deal?" Contest. The winning writer -- 14-year-old Samantha Hernandez from Laredo -- was partnered with Griffin Dunne (Practical Magic) to turn her story into a short film -- entitled Today I Found Out -- for national distribution.
Today I Found Out is currently being used as a teaching tool in schools and community groups in 37 States including the Río Grande Valley, has been screened at dozens of film festivals, and was aired nationally on Showtime. Samantha was featured on the cover of the New York Times Weekend Section in a story about her experience making her film. To date, Scenarios USA has produced nine films acknowledging the realities of teenagers' lives because they are written by teens.
"We've seen a tremendously positive impact on the young people who write the stories, work on the production, and watch the films," said Scenarios USA co-founder Kristen Joiner. "These films are a necessary tool because there's nothing out there that's current for kids, addressing their concerns from their perspective. Since these films are made by teenagers, teens who watch them see themselves in the characters. The surroundings, choices, slang, music, and even the clothing in the films are familiar to them, so they listen to the message."
Scenarios USA is a national non-profit which aims to motivate youth to explore and express their ideas and opinions around adolescent health, with the goal of having them make healthier and safer decisions. The program began in 1998 primarily as the result of extensive volunteer efforts by founders Kristen Joiner and Maura Minsky. Scenarios USA replicates two successful international efforts in France and West Africa, "3,000 Scenarios Against a Virus" and "Scenarios from the Sahel," respectively. Since 1998, Scenarios has worked with almost 5,000 young people from public schools, juvenile justice halls, and community-based organizations from across the country. Directors who have worked with Scenarios USA winners include Doug Liman (Swingers, The Bourne Identity), Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter, The World is Not Enough), Griffin Dunne (Practical Magic, Addicted to Love), David Frankel (Band of Brothers, Sex and the City), Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills), Jim McKay (Our Song), and Hannah Weyer (La Boda).