About The COOL Cooperative
Welcome to The COOL Cooperative! We are a youth focused film education program dedicated to empowering Louisiana students from 6th grade through high school graduation. We provide a safe, stable, and engaging environment where students can find their voice and learn to express themselves through the art of filmmaking.
Letter from the founder
The accidental death of my eldest son,
David Whitney Stallard II, just four weeks after
returning from an orphanage rebuilding mission in
Haiti and pledging his life to “helping children less fortunate than him”,
was the impetus for the founding of the COOL Cooperative.
My serendipitous introduction to the fascinating world of filmmaking in
2013 was when budding filmmaker Kirby Voss invited me to produce his feature film.
Filmmaking is a team sport whose success requires both creativity
and physicality, and, in my experience, the end result is not just a product
but “a family”.
The COOL Cooperative provides the opportunity for area youth
to master the art of storytelling while also receiving hands on
training in every aspect of filmmaking, proffering a unique skill set
not available elsewhere for middle and high schoolers.
In the coming years, with the grant from LED, I proudly anticipate
the expansion of COOL state wide in Louisiana.
As founder, I have an infinite amount of gratitude for everyone
who has contributed to COOL over the last 10 years to make this program successful. It has taken the passion and commitment of many teachers, staff, mentors, volunteers, board members, and students to make this dream a reality.
