Spring Break Film Camp Provides Creative Outlet for Birmingham-Area Students

By Keisa Sharpe-Jefferson | For The Birmingham Times Ready, set, action. Nearly 50 Jefferson County students participated in the third annual Dundrill Heights Spring Break Film Camp, last week at the YMCA Youth Center in downtown Birmingham. The film camp was brought to life by Valton Johnson, through his company Cinematic Creations, and was designed specifically for students during spring break. “Kids are out of school and an idle mind is the devil’s workshop,” said the filmmaker. “So, we wanted to provide [students] a safe environment at the YMCA, and teach them all things film from screen writing, acting, ballet, poetry, dance …,” he said. The camp is named for Johnson’s movie project titled “Dundrill Heights,” which follows the life of a conniving hotshot attorney which can be seen on both Tubi and Amazon Prime. Johnson told students that “Dundrill” comes from his wife’s — LaCherie Price Johnson — family name. Price Johnson assisted her husband at the camp. “The expectation is that [students] will write their script, because they’re screenwriters; they will act out their scripts, because they’re learning acting; and then, they would shoot their own script and their movies,’ said Valton Johnson. The sessions wrapped up Friday,...