Short

This is a story of rediscovering the joys of community again in older age, and in the longing for ritual, however unorthodox it may appear. There are themes of love, of ritual and of community — all within the context of an adorable scene at Wendy’s

The Youth Documentary Academy will present two programs.  First, AFTER WAR is an unvarnished account by Bailey Francisco of his father’s PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury and the impact these had on his family.  Second, we will show an episode from the upcoming television series OUR TIME about youth suicide in the Pikes Peak Region.  Filmmakers will be present in conversation with YDA Director Tom Shepard to discuss mental health, PTSD and suicide prevention. 

Marlise Muñoz was 33 and 14 weeks pregnant when she died. She suffered a pulmonary embolism and was pronounced brain-dead in Fort Worth, TX. Marlise had previously told her family that she never wanted to be on life support, under any circumstances. And since a brain-dead patient is in fact legally dead, that should have been the end of this sad story. But the Muñoz family was forced to keep Marlise on mechanical support against their will for 62 days, because of a little known law stating “a person may not withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment… from a pregnant patient.”

Before 2009, Shelby Bean had never experienced Deaf culture or American Sign Language because he’s the only Hard of Hearing member of his family. In 2009, Shelby was recruited for the world’s only collegiate Deaf and Hard of Hearing football team: the Gallaudet University Bison. Eight years later, Shelby has found his community at Gallaudet, coaching for the football team and preparing to marry his college sweetheart. This is his story.

Charlie Carrel, a horseman from Wyoming, bonds with a troubled horse. After years of work together, they fight the odds and compete at a top level Grand Prix to prove the actual worth and ability of Utopik.