This Norwood community center is getting ready for its close-up.

Community Organized for Vision of Excellence (COVE) will host a screening produced by some of the center’s burgeoning student filmmakers from the neighborhood on Friday, March 13 from 7:00 to 9 p.m. 

Supporters will view these short films at Montefiore Medical Center Grand Hall at 107 E. Gun Hill Rd.

This season The COVE teens embraced the theme of social media addiction. Students have created two Public Service Announcements that makes one contemplate “does social media truly help or inhibit one’s ability to socialize on a basic human level?”

This year’s film shorts also addressed the issue of police brutality, and the daily struggles some Norwood youths face when interacting with police, according to organizers. COVE youths interview victims of police brutality, speak to members of the community, and engage retired NYPD detectives in sharing and expressing insight to their own experiences.

These COVE youth productions are screened and presented to their peers, family, friends, and colleagues as well as The COVE Board Members and staff. A Q&A panel follows the screening, allowing the teens that have written, produced and directed the film shorts answer questions asked of them by the viewers.

Twenty-five years later, The COVE’s mission remains strong. The Knox Gates Neighborhood Association (KGNA) believes in the power of community. Together our neighborhood youth, adults, and elders have organized to create The COVE, a safe space that provides neighborhood teens with after-school and summer programs. The COVE Media Arts & Literacy Program offers our neighborhood teens college and career readiness and a place to learn self-reliance, respect for others, and the skills to live full, cooperative, and productive lives.

To view previous film shorts, please visit COVEbx.org or for additional information, contact The COVE by email at COVEbxDevelopment@gmail.com or phone at (718) 405-1312.