Press & Events
2017 YDA Premiere Announced
Join the Youth Documentary Academy’s newest class of filmmakers at the premiere screening of their films on November 4th, 2017 at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. Since the founding of the Youth Documentary in 2013, dozens of young people in the Colorado Springs area have received … Read more »
YDA Helps Start a Conversation around Youth Suicide Prevention
YDA is so proud to participate in a series of events this Fall surrounding the topic of Youth Suicide Prevention. Filmmaker Madison Legg, along with her film UNDER THE WIRE, have been included in a series of panel presentations offered by Colorado Springs School District 11, “Awareness Matters: Understanding Mental … Read more »
YDA Students Nominated for 2017 Pikes Peak Arts Council Awards
Joshua Sun and Tea Santos, two graduates of YDA, have been nominated for awards at the 2017 Pikes Peak Arts Council Awards this October. Both filmmakers are nominated in two categories, ‘Excellent Experimental or Documentary Film’ and ‘Young Filmmaker’. LOVE ME directed by Josh Sun, explores the cultural differences – and tensions – between … Read more »
YDA Wins an EMMY!
We are so proud to announce the first Emmy Award for the Youth Documentary Academy. The YDA produced film, UNDER THE WIRE, was the foundation for an episode of “Insight with John Ferrugia” titled ‘Surviving Suicide,’ and won in the category, “Children/Youth/Teen Program/Special.” Watch the full episode here: rmpbs.org/blogs/news/insight-surviving-suicide/ Children/Youth/Teen … Read more »
Andy Kwiatkowski and YDA win Best Documentary
Andy’s film “Lonely Highway” wins best documentary at Scout Film Festival. Huge congratulations to him and the other filmmakers featured in this festival! Amethyst Drago, TO BE HEARD Gabriel Valentine, DADS Kalia Hunter, DOM
Scout Film Festival Award Nominees Announced
DOM is going to turn heads at the Scout Film Festival, June 9-11 in Stowe, VT. Directed by Kalia Hunter, cinematography by Dee Contreras and Gabriel Valentine, DOM is nominated for… Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Documentary, and Best Overall Film. Good Luck Kalia, Dee, and Gabriel! https://madmimi.com/s/cb8a0a … Read more »
OUT OF OUR HEADS Wins Best Documentary
Shaienne Knox took home the award for Best Documentary from the 2017 Colorado Short Circuit Film Festival for her film OUT OF OUR HEADS. Congratulations! A full list of Festival winners is below. Judges’ Favorite: Entropy, Kate Lowell Best Documentary: Out of Our Heads, Shaienne Knox Best Comedy: Foreverstate , … Read more »
Colorado Short Circuit Film Festival
The Independent Film Society of Colorado presents COLORADO SHORT CIRCUIT 2017: An Indie Spirit Film Festival Event. Featuring films from Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Denver, Colorado Short Circuit showcases short films from across our region. Each hour-long film block features a collection of short films and a Q&A session with … Read more »
Four YDA films selects for the Scout Film Festival
Four YDA films and filmmakers have been selected to screen at the Scout Film Festival in Stowe, VT, June 9-11. Our filmmakers were chosen out of 987 total submissions from 67 countries! Congratulations to … Amethyst Drago, TO BE HEARD Gabriel Valentine, DADS Kalia Hunter, DOM Andy Kwiatkowski, LONELY HIGHWAY An … Read more »
YDA participates in the African American Youth Leadership Conference
Four YDA graduates screened their films at the African American Youth Leadership Conference – AAYLC on Saturday, March 11th at Colorado College. AJ Vafiades, REAL MOM Jose Retana, THE SILENCED Shaienne Knox, OUT OF OUR HEADS Andy Kwiatkowski, LONELY HIGHWAY The 2017 African American Youth Leadership Conference is designed for … 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
