JOSEPH ORR MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Aurora Picture Show has established the Joseph Orr Memorial Scholarship Fund for need-based scholarships to our annual series of creative camps for participants ages 7-15. This fund is named in memory of Joseph Orr (2001-21), whose enthusiasm as a participant in Aurora’s youth programs, volunteer, and audience member will not be forgotten.
Joseph Orr’s parents shared with us this remembrance of his experience with Aurora:

Joseph loved watching and discussing films. It wasn’t until he attended his first Aurora Picture Show Summer Filmmaking Camp at age 10 that he learned he could create them. After that first week of learning about filmmaking and having a blast collaborating with three other young filmmakers to create a stop motion animation, he was hooked. He attended every summer camp that he was eligible, as many Aurora workshops he could fit in to his schedule, and countless Aurora film screenings and special events. When that first summer camp film became an official entry at the Chicago Film Festival’s CineYouth Festival and the Audience Choice award-winner in the youth category of Aurora’s Extremely Shorts Film Festival, Joseph and his friends learned about the process of sharing one’s film with a wider audience. One of his favorite Aurora activities was BYOB, where he and his friends joined many talented Houston filmmakers in screening films on the side of the Menil Collection building. In high school, Joseph once again connected with Aurora in his school’s film class, as Education Director Camilo Gonzalez provided expert support. Joseph’s love of film never waned, and when he was looking to volunteer with a Houston organization while home from college, Joseph of course turned to Aurora to assist in the film camps. Over many years, he learned about films and filmmaking from Aurora Picture Show, but most importantly, he learned that he could use the creative process to express his thoughts and feelings. Joseph found in Aurora Picture Show a wonderful community of like-minded film lovers and creators and that community felt like home to him.

Information about this year’s summer filmmaking camps and application link for a need-based scholarship here.