Press & Events
2024 WORLD PREMIERE OF NEW FILMS
WATCH TEASER HERE TICKETS ON SALE NOW. CLICK HERE On Saturday, November 16, at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts at Colorado College, YDA presents the World Premiere of new films produced by the Class of 2024. From immigration and body image, to faith and family, from homelessness and namesakes … Read more »
YDA National Award Winner Olive Van Eimeren featured on KOAA
https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/teen-documentarian-from-manitou-springs-wins-national-film-festival
YDA Profiled in CS Indy, November 2022
https://www.csindy.com/food_and_culture/culture/ambitious-local-filmmakers-have-a-lot-to-gain-from-olive-van-eimeren-s-documentary-win/article_dab1ce70-6490-11ed-93ce-9f5b256502e4.html
OUR TIME featured as Top Story in Denver’s Westword
https://www.westword.com/arts/youth-documentary-academy-films-play-on-pbs-12290813
Apply Today for YDA 2022
WRITERS PHOTOGRAPHERS STORYTELLERS FILMMAKERS ADVOCATES APPLY HERE The Youth Documentary Academy (“YDA”) is an intensive, eight-week summer documentary filmmaking fellowship serving teenagers, with under-represented voices, in Southern Colorado from ages 14-18. From initial concept to final edit and distribution, you will learn the process of documentary filmmaking, including hands-on training … Read more »
Youth Media Matters Film Festivals
The Youth Media Matters Film Festival was conceived in 2021 by Colorado Springs School District 11 and the Youth Documentary Academy. Since then, YDA has implemented Youth Media Matters in 12 high schools in Southern Colorado, two universities, the Air Force Academy, and numerous community events. Youth Media Matters pairs films … Read more »
Closing Night Red Carpet Event — Bing Liu’s MINDING THE GAP
To celebrate the first Youth Media Matters Film Festival, the Youth Documentary Academy and School District 11 presented a special red-carpet screening event at Palmer High School main auditorium on Saturday, March 5. Festivities began at 6:30pm as we watched the Sundance award-winning and Oscar-nominated MINDING THE GAP and met the filmmaker, Bing Liu, … Read more »
2021 Indy Give! Launch
Dear Friend and Supporter, Let me thank you in advance for reading this personal statement. For some time, I’ve wanted to express to you what the Youth Documentary Academy (YDA) has meant to me personally this last decade. YDA has become the work of my professional life and work that … Read more »
2021 Master Class & Special Screenings
Join us each Tuesday evening in June at Kimball’s Peak Theater for a special screening and intimate and in-depth conversation with notable documentary filmmakers from around the country. This summer, we will screen films and excerpts from five award-winning directors whose work has made significant impact nationally and internationally. Join us for screenings … Read more »
YDA Student Films Shown at Short Circuit Film Festival
A big shout out to YDA filmmakers, Stevie Earnest, Bailey Fransisco, Samuel Faux, Taylor Novak, Rebecca St. John, and Kalia Hunter whose films were shown at the Short Circuit Film Festival this past March. An extra congratulations to Kalia Hunter who took the Women in Film Award and Bailey Francisco … Read more »
While walking around Boulder, so many people came up to me and my dad to thank me for making AFTER WAR.
Bailey Francisco, 17