Danville Whiz Kid and Filmmaker Lauren Lindberg is Pretty Amazing

It’s a pretty amazing time in Danville teen Lauren Lindberg’s life. 

The senior is busy taking her final exams this week. She's also excited about her upcoming graduation and senior trip as well as preparing for college this fall at Chapman University in Southern California, where she will study filmmaking.

Lindberg, 17, also has the added excitement of recently being selected as one of five finalists in Seventeen magazine’s “Pretty Amazing” real girl cover contest.

The magazine, read by 13 million teen girls, selected Lindberg from more than 35,000 entries, all vying to appear on the October cover of the magazine and receive a $10,000 scholarship from Neutrogena.

The magazine’s editors said they set out at the beginning of the year to find and recognize passionate, creative girls who are working to effect positive change.

"This contest is the ultimate celebration of our readers," said Ann Shoket, Seventeen's Editor-in-Chief. "There are so many amazing, beautiful girls who are making their mark at such a young age — their stories are profoundly inspiring!"

Successfully beating out thousands of other hopefuls, Lindberg now needs the community’s support and votes to help her take the “Pretty Amazing” title.

In June she will travel with her mom, Jean, to New York City to meet with the contest’s judges, who include Shoket; actress, recording artist and Neutrogena brand ambassador, Miranda Cosgrove; and Jared Eng, creator of the multi-media entertainment group, JustJared.

While there, Lindberg will receive a makeover at a top salon and participate in a cover photo shoot.

Adding to the excitement leading up to the trip, MTV will reportedly visit Danville next weekend to film Lindberg, according to her mother.

Lindberg said she entered the contest with no real expectations; she thought she would just see what would happen.

Her story of coping with attention deficit disorder as well as depression in her sophomore year of high school and her passionate drive to create documentary films about issues that teens care about caught the attention of the magazine’s editors. She was selected as the West Coast finalist.

Accustomed to telling other people’s stories in her films, the Seventeen magazine contest is a chance for Lindberg to “voice her own story.” 

Lindberg has said she started “messing around” with the family camera and making early forays into editing as early as age 9.

At Monte Vista High, she got involved with the audio-visual program, but when the program was discontinued, she became involved with The Factory, a youth program sponsored by the Bay Area Video Coalition in Oakland.

The program trains young filmmakers to create professional quality short films, music videos and public service announcements. Students are encouraged to collaborate with individuals and community organizations.

Lindberg said the program sparked her interest in documentary filmmaking and “changed her perspective.”

In the documentary film mode, she found a voice to explore topics and bring awareness to issues meaningful to her, she said.

At The Factory, Lindberg co-directed, filmed and edited an award-winning documentary, “Independence in Sight,” about visually impaired teenagers who are working to achieve functional independence with the assistance of the Hatlen Center for the Blind in Oakland.

She also has produced public service announcements and training films that support local food banks and efforts to convince kids to stay in school.

She is working on finishing another documentary, “Advice for the Gulf.” She began the film last summer in Anchorage, Ala., about the impact 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and the lessons that can be applied to last year’s Deep Sea Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lindberg also will begin work this summer on a suicide-prevention documentary with REACHOUT, a teen suicide-prevention organization.

Depression and suicide are issues she feels needs to be explored, especially in the wake of two suicides by young people in the San Ramon Valley within the past year.

“It’s happened twice now and that’s enough,” Lindberg said.

Last Friday night, she hosted a screening of “Independence in Sight” at Monte Vista High. She is donating the proceeds of the sale of her DVD to REACHOUT.

In addition to filmmaking, Lindberg has been a cheerleader for eight years and founded the Fashion4Cause club at Monte Vista, which holds charity fashion shows and clothing drives. Club members got the opportunity to meet celebrity fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and Project Runway winner Daniel Vosivic.

Lindberg said the Seventeen magazine “Pretty Amazing” contest represents an exciting and “really awesome opportunity” to pursue what she loves  — doing something that gives her a sense of purpose, through which she hopes to make a difference.

Lindberg’s key to being amazing: “It’s all about pursuing what you love regardless of the obstacles and what other people think.”

To learn more about the Seventeen magazine “Pretty Amazing” real girl contest, and to vote for Lauren Lindberg, visit the website: www.seventeen.com/fun/articles/pretty-amazing-voting.

To view Lindberg’s work, visit her YouTube channel.