OUR TIME Broadcast – Press Release

 

PRESS RELEASE                                                  

 

 

 

 

 

RELEASE DATE: September 13, 2019

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS PREMIERES NEW TV SERIES OUR TIME ON OCTOBER 3

AWARD-WINNING STORIES BY AND ABOUT YOUTH IN AMERICA.
PRODUCED BY THE YOUTH DOCUMENTARY ACADEMY IN COLORADO SPRINGS. 

Premiering on Thursday, October 3, 2019 at 8:30pm on Rocky Mt PBS and airing weekly on Thursday nights at 8:30pm.

[Denver, CO, 09/13/19] OUR TIME is a new series for public television stations produced by youth in partnership with professional documentary filmmakers. Films in the series feature character-driven stories that address social issues around race, colorism, disability, teen suicide, gender and sexuality, domestic violence, family life and immigration all through the eyes of young people. OUR TIME filmmakers come from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds and offer fresh and unvarnished perspectives.

As intense partisanship continues to polarize the political process in the U.S., young people are stepping forward in unprecedented numbers to make their voices and values heard. From the thousands of students transformed by recent school shootings who have inspired classroom walkouts to the so called “dreamers” pushing the legislative needle on immigration reform to teen climate advocates raising environmental consciousness in their communities, young Americans are articulating a proactive vision for their futures in spite of the toxicity that pervades current national discourse.

OUR TIME films have won numerous awards including a regional Emmy, selection in major film and media festivals (including 30 times at the All American High School Film Festival), and dozens of community forums around the U.S. including screenings to members of Congress, the Black Congressional Caucus, the National Association of Military Families, the National Center for Transgender Equality and many more. Several of our filmmakers have been interviewed in the national press and all their films have been featured in reviews and articles (see https:// www.youthdocumentary.org/press/).

According to Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO), “Their films explore key public policy issues that are in our national conversation. I applaud the young filmmakers for so courageously and intimately tackling social issues that matter to them and doing so, locating a powerful voice that can teach all of us.”

Each episode of OUR TIME (26:40) includes an intro, two short documentaries that coalesce around a social issue or theme, a short interstitial clip between films, and filmmaker interviews which precede the closing credits. Turning the lens on young people as they wrestle with stories that matter to them provides public television with a much needed source of perspectives from younger lives while amplifying the voices of our next generation.

Episode 1 “Teen Suicide” airs Thursday, October 3, at 8:30pm. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24. OUR TIME filmmakers Madison Legg and Sorin “Téa” Santos, both 17, tackle the issue head on in their films UNDER THE WIRE and SURVIVING. Legg confronts her younger brother who recently attempted suicide, and in an unusually intimate conversation, scours the emotional landscape of self-harm, family secrets, and the costs of concealing painful emotions. After attempting suicide himself, Santos confronts his parents who were forced to admit their son into a psychiatric hospital. In both films, Legg and Santos effectively turn the camera on family (and themselves) to excavate the most taboo topics in their lives. Stay tuned at the end for interviews with the filmmakers.

OUR TIME is produced by the Youth Documentary Academy (YDA) which was formed in 2013 to train youth from under-represented backgrounds how to make professional documentary films. Working hand in hand with award-winning, nationally recognized filmmakers and television producers, youth produce high caliber, emotionally-driven first- person programs that derive from their own lived experiences and appeal to a wide public television audience. Increasingly, our program is becoming a go-to for educators and families to acquire youth-generated content with a strong perspective.

According to Rocky Mountain PBS producer Kate Perdoni: “OUR TIME is a much needed program for public television, providing stories of America’s next generation through collaborative filmmaking with professionals in the field.  If you like P.O.V., you’ll love OUR TIME. The series creator, The Youth Documentary Academy, is a revolutionary model that honors the innate wisdom and experience of young people. The stories move and inspire.”

To learn more about all the episodes in this season, to book interviews with filmmakers or with faculty at the Youth Documentary Academy, please contact Kathy Stults (kathy@youthdocumentary.org) or Karen Walldorf (karen@youthdocumentary.org).