Apply Now to the 2025 Summer Documentary Institute!

The Appalachian Media Institute (AMI) is accepting applications for our annual Summer Documentary Institute until April 30. Since 1988, the Appalachian Media Institute (AMI) has provided opportunities for young people from central Appalachia to explore their communities and develop their creative skills through the arts and media. Over the course of the summer, youth (ages 14 to 22) explore the basics of video and audio production, view and discuss documentary media, and learn how to produce and distribute meaningful media about community issues and traditions.

This year's Summer Documentary Institute will expand upon AMI’s tradition of innovative media training with an 8-week program that utilizes documentary storytelling as a means to explore, produce and share youth-led visions for central Appalachia’s future. Youth interns will partake in a broad range of workshops on media production, taught by AMI staff, Appalshop staff, and regional artists. The Summer Documentary Institute is designed to benefit all young media makers, no matter their experience level. No prior media experience is required and beginning artists are encouraged to apply.

“AMI helped me to imagine a world where it is possible to pursue a more nontraditional career path. Growing up, I always wanted to work on movies but somewhere along the way it began to seem impossible; AMI and Appalshop proved that wrong. AMI is a life changing experience and a necessary stop for any hopeful Appalachian filmmaker!” - Jesse Frye, 2021 SDI Intern

Tommy Anderson, AMI Program Manager, says the program teaches Appalachian youth "how media has the power to shape the stories we may tell about ourselves and others, and how to use that power for good to tell our own stories, with our own words, sights and sounds," and that AMI is about "finding yourself and feeling comfortable in your own skin and with your own identity," in a "collaborative and cooperative educational environment." 

If you’d like to apply to join us for the 2025 Summer Documentary Institute, you can fill out an application here. 

Note: This PAID internship is available for youth ages 14 to 22 who are located in Central Appalachia and are able to meet Monday-Thursday during typical working hours in Jenkins, KY. For questions, please contact ami@appalshop.org.

We continue to celebrate the achievement of the Nimrod Workman Collection entering the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. We are grateful to have heard from many members of Nimrod’s family, who celebrated this accomplishment with us, as well as collaborators, musicians, filmmakers, and others who knew and worked alongside Nimrod during his life. We are incredibly thankful for those who shared stories, photos, and memories with us. Passing Thru the Garden, the collaborative album made by Nimrod Workman and Phyllis Boyens (produced by Jack Wright), is available for free/pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp through the end of April. You can also watch Nimrod Workman: To Fit My Own Category (Scott Faulkner, Anthony Slone, 1975) for free on Youtube. We are so fortunate to be able to celebrate this achievement with our community.