Youth filmmakers to be featured on PBS

Colorado Springs Independent INDY BLOG

UPDATE: POSTED BY J. ADRIAN STANLEY ON THU, DEC 8, 2016 AT 3:21 PM

Rocky Mountain PBS reached out to me today to clarify that Legg’s film is a part of a new series called “Insight with John Ferrugia.”

The special that Legg is featured on is called “Surviving Suicide” and will feature an interview with Legg and clips from her film.

PBS will be airing more YDA films in the future, though it’s not yet decided what programs they will be a part of.

“We are excited to work with the Youth Documentary Academy and looking forward to what the possibilities are in the future,” Laura Frank, PBS president and general manger of news, says. “These are talented filmmakers.

——- ORIGINAL POST BY J. ADRIAN STANLEY, WEDNESDAY, DEC 7, 2016 at 4:47 p.m. ——-

As a journalist, I try not to get emotionally involved in my stories.

But it’s tough not get excited when a bunch of ambitious, talented, bright, local teens get the recognition they deserve. So, excuse me if I seem a little giddy when I tell you that the Youth Documentary Academy is partnering with Rocky Mountain PBS. PBS is going to be broadcasting YDA’s short documentaries, giving these powerful films a wider audience.

Madison Legg’s 2015 film Under the Wire will be the first to air. You can watch it on Thursday, December 15, at 7 p.m.

I wrote about Legg’s film, and several other YDA films, here in October.

YDA is led by award-winning filmmaker Tom Shepard, who grew up in the Springs. The program offers training to talented teens free-of-charge, giving them the tools and skills to tell their own stories through film.

So what stories do teens have to tell? How about the pain of a completed or attempted youth suicide? Or the struggle of growing up with a debilitating disease? Or the division in the black community based on skin shade?

In other words, these films are made by kids, but they weren’t treated with kid gloves. YDA’s young filmmakers explore deep subjects in surprisingly raw ways. Prepare the tissues.

Original post can be found here:  http://www.csindy.com/IndyBlog/archives/2016/12/07/youth-filmmakers-to-be-featured-on-pbs