Jasmine Sklarew has long been interested in peace as a product of social activism.
She started making films on her mom’s phone at age six, and during her junior year of high school learned professional techniques through an IB film class, which encouraged her incorporation of social issues into her work.
In October, she directed, wrote, and edited the short film “Ghost Girl: Three Stories, One Reality,”
for a scholarship opportunity. It presents three young women who describe their personal experiences highlighting ways girls are often criticized, limited, and even abused. It was an all-female project, with the crew solely involving high school students and is the focus of this Peace Award.
Jasmine led the creation and production of two other films, “Lost Connections” and “Finding June,” which deal with issues of special importance to youth. All these works are available on the You tube channel Firefly Film Productions (https://www.youtube.com/@FireflyFilmProductions), and her short form film content is on Instagram.
One of her films was presented at an all-school premiere.Some have been shown in high school film classes and private viewings. To further the reach of her work, she plans to submit “Ghost Girl” for film festival consideration.
Jasmine shared that her creative efforts have been greatly assisted by constructive feedback, advice and reinforcement from students and teachers in her film studies class and by feedback from family and friends. Both male and female viewers of “Ghost Girl” indicated that the film’s examples helped them to better understand the issues many girls face. Girls said they felt comforted and empowered by the content.
The goal of her work, Jasmine says, is the sharing of perspectives that might otherwise go unheard and inspiring meaningful conversations about them. She believes that film is an exceptional medium for presenting differing and often unpopular viewpoints, educating viewers, and encouraging them to talk about hard issues. In this way, her films create building blocks for peace.
Jasmine’s efforts have made an impact on other students. A fellow student says, “Jasmine has done so much to promote peace and resolve conflicts in our community. She’s always the one stepping up to organize events that bring people together, whether it’s community service or a group discussion about important issues. She really believes in making sure everyone’s voice is heard and works hard to create spaces where people from all backgrounds can connect and understand each other better.”
Jasmine is also part of the Founders Ensemble at Precipice Theater Team (https://www.precipicetheater.org/), which seeks to develop collaborative productions featuring social action issues to spark dialogue among viewers from diverse backgrounds. She has taken on an outreach role in the group by working to build a mentorship program to help younger artists develop their talents, and she is also helping the nonprofit to develop a film division to create films on social action issues.
In related efforts, Jasmine is currently organizing a program and presentation for her school. She is contacting Virginia officials and school board members to serve on a panel to discuss Title IX, a federal law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program receiving federal funding. She will moderate the panel.
Jasmine plans to attend Wesleyan University in Connecticut and hopes that its focus on the liberal arts will offer her opportunities to continue pursuing social action for peace in the future.