A selection of short films produced by the Youth Documentary Academy.
SURVIVING by Tea Santos
After enduring invasive heart and brain surgeries as a child, Director Tea Santos found herself plunging into depression as an adolescent. SURVIVING is an unvarnished account of her rocky road to recovery while navigating the dark contours of a psychiatric hospital and demons that tested her own will to live. (14:00)
LABELED directed by Hadassah Nix
LABELED challenges religious stereotypes by introducing its audience to unexpected Christian tattoo artists, hip hop dancers and one very unlikely pastor. (11:30)
FINDING HOME directed by Yolande Morrison
Having left the island of Jamaica to reunite with her grandmother in Colorado Springs, filmmaker Yolande Morrison and her family recount the experience of leaving one’s homeland and beginning new lives. While paying homage to her mother and grandmother, Morrison’s own personal narrative reveals the challenge of maintaining one’s own culture while constantly assimilating to a new one. (14:00)
FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE directed Angel Baeza
Director Angel Baeza shines light on his own mother who raised four kids with little help from their father. This tender and intimate account of a mother’s fierce love for her children reminds its audience what makes a family. (10:00)
LOVE ME directed by Josh Sun
Filmmaker Josh Sun explores the cultural differences – and tensions – between his parents’ Chinese upbringing and the American culture in which he grew up. This poignant first-person account reveals not only the pressures that first-generation immigrant parents place on their kids, but also the filmmaker’s personal journey toward self-love. (11:30)
Filmmakers will be present to answer questions from the audience and discuss their films.
