This is the Coolest Film Festival, Hands-Down:

Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of the Netflix series, Stranger Things, sent the following message to the White House email list. Didn't get the message? Sign up for updates here.

As twin brothers growing up in North Carolina, our parents gave us a Hi8 video camera in the third grade. We became obsessed with it — when other kids went to summer camp, we’d wander around our neighborhood with our friends, filming our own stories. We made movies about things we loved, like supernatural creatures and fantasy card games. (Yes, we’re “nerds.”)

Of course, looking back, these movies are pretty bad, but it didn’t matter to us at the time. We fell in the love with the idea that, as filmmakers, we could create our own imagined worlds of endless possibility — and take viewers on adventures within those worlds.

So that’s why today, we’re incredibly proud to be here at the third annual White House Student Film Festival to help the next generation of aspiring filmmakers debut their own imagined worlds. For the past few months, the White House has received hundreds of submissions from K-12 students on the theme “The World I Want To Live In” — and today, they’re premiering the finalists.

Trust us, you don’t want to miss these films — make sure to tune in live at 1pm ET to watch their debut.

We got a sneak peek of the films and these students have crazy talent. Their films paint big ideas for the future, like tackling climate change, creating equal education, and making our society more inclusive. When we were their age, were mostly thinking about things like … possessed stuffed animals and shape-shifting monsters. But hey — we all have to start somewhere!

Anyway, tomorrow, at the South by South Lawn festival, the White House will screen the three Official Selections along with appearances by some of the incredible kid cast members from our show, Stranger Things!

This is hands-down the coolest film festival we’ve attended. So join us at 1pm ET, and make sure your friends and family watch, too.

Thanks!

Matt and Ross Duffer
Creators of Stranger Things

P.S. You can get all the details and follow along as tomorrow’s South by South Lawn festival kicks off right here: wh.gov/sxsl.