Below is just a sampling of the endorsements the contest receives from the general San Antonio area. After 10 years, the contest has become a staple in classrooms as well as in other community centers where teens grapple with the issues of today.
The Can’t Beat Love San Antonio Youth Film Contest is an exciting and great opportunity for our young people in our community to showcase their film and artistic talents to highlight the tough and difficult issues that our teenagers face on a daily basis. Please show us your talents and win great prizes and citywide recognition at our Awards Ceremony. Don’t miss the fun. See you in Hollywood one of these days.
Judge Peter Sakai, 225th District Court
The “Can’t Beat Love Film Contest,” a rarity in its strictly-for-local-high-school-students contest format, is a gem. Its structure has afforded teachers and students throughout the city the opportunity to discuss the heavy subjects teenagers usually feel the need to obscure because they haven’t been challenged to find the words or images to formulate responses. Additionally, the contest allows for students to compete via group or individual entries within the same category, making it an extremely fair playing field. As a teacher with very little equipment and annual novices to this contest, I extremely appreciate the Can’t Beat Love contest. Not only does it give voice to very important subjects and discussions that need to be addressed at all ages, but allows a rarely heard voice, our youth-tomorrow’s future, the chance to voice their observations and solutions to important subjects and discussions that need to be heard by all ages.
Miss Louisette Zurita, Speech, Theatre, Film, Music Ministry, Head of Blended Learning Accelerated Program
St. Anthony Catholic High School
The Can’t beat love video contest allows me as a teacher to not only give my students a project they can complete in class, but it also creates an environment amongst my classroom that is extremely cooperative. From the unveiling of the topic to the huge spectacular awards ceremony, my kids are working together and not only creating cool videos, but they are educating themselves about a serious topic society faces. I can’t say enough great things about this contest, I will always assign it to my students as long as they continue to offer such a great event.
John Munoz, Film Teacher, Alamo Heights High School
The films included in the Can’t Beat Love Education Module have proved to be a tremendous tool we use among several groups including the teen Jewish group NIFTY, camp counselor training, and older campers in our program. The films are perfect for launching into discussions about the issues that these kids face every day and gives them strategies on how best to deal with them. The series on Substance Abuse and Addiction encompassed so many additional themes such as peer pressure as well. We ended up scheduling a follow-on session to complete the discussion. This film program is a wonderful program and has served us well.
Lisa Guerrero, Director of Youth & Camping Services, Jewish Community Center