#101: PTSD AND MENTAL ILLNESS

Short: Filmmakers tackle PTSD and bipolar disorder head-on as they recount their experiences.

Long: Over one million veterans in the United States are suffering from PTSD. We rarely hear stories about mental illness through the lens of young people whose parents are suffering. Filmmakers Bailey Francisco and Madison Goddard tackle PTSD and bipolar disorder head-on as they recount their experiences and the ways in which they were forced to bear the brunt of their parents' conditions.

#102: HAIR AND SELF IMAGE

Short: Examine the role hair plays in the lives and communities of these young filmmakers.

Long: Hair can shape our identities or it can challenge the very notion of how we define beauty. Filmmakers Shaienne Knox and Isabella Recca examine the role hair plays in their lives and communities. In Out of Our Heads, 16-year-old Knox explores the ways in which African American girls and women style their hair. In Bella, 17-year-old Isabella Recca tests her own beauty standards by shaving her head.

#103: TEEN MENTAL HEALTH + SUICIDE PREVENTION

Short: Filmmakers tackle the issue of suicide, the second main cause of death for young people.

Long: Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 24. Filmmakers Madison Legg and Teìa Santos, both 17, discuss the issue in their films Under the Wire and Surviving. Legg confronts her younger brother who recently attempted suicide. After attempting suicide herself, Santos confronts her parents who were forced to admit their daughter into a psychiatric hospital.

#104: IMMIGRATION

Short: Filmmakers reveal the binds of assimilation while remaining true to family tradition.

Long: New immigrants face steep challenges coming to the U.S. Often, though, it’s the children of immigrants who find themselves caught between the traditions of their parents and the new norms in which they live. Filmmakers Josh Sun and Yolande Morrison navigate two very different worlds: living up to their parents’expectations while carving a uniquely American voice of their own.

#105: INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE AND BULLYING

Short: Young filmmakers address intimate partner violence among teens.

Long: Little research has addressed intimate partner violence among teens. Girls and LGBT youth, report higher levels of dating violence and bullying in their relationships. Filmmaker Rebecca St. John reveals the gritty stages of a domestic violence relationship in middle and high school. Filmmaker Dee Contreras details a life of homophobic bullying, even at the hands of her first girlfriend.

#106: SELF IMAGE & NON-CONFORMITY

Short: Young filmmakers tackle societal ideals of beauty and the effects on self-image.

Long: Societal ideals of beauty have promoted images of ultra-thin models resulting in an epidemic of eating disorders. Makayla de la Cruz tackles her life-long battle with weight and body image, while Casey Gurtler eschews the self-policing that young people employ when conforming to societal norms. Both films reveal family and parenting strategies that resist peer conformity.