With our four new climate films by teens from Ukraine, Germany, India and Kentucky BYkids is proud to participate in a NationSwell event with the CEO of Patagonia and to attend the UNITE 2030 with the next generation of young changemakers from around the world to end poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change by 2030.
BYkids is honored to curate three nights of powerful documentaries by filmmakers making work on their own terms in their home communities to honor cultural knowledge, elevate awareness and drive substantive social change.
Partnering with FilmAid and Nia Tero, we are presenting “Film Series: Empowering Global Voices for Social Change” at Opportunity Collaboration 2022, the summit of global leaders dedicated to building sustainable solutions to poverty and injustice.
BYkids is screening and discussing AGAINST THE CURRENT. In her film, Native American teen activist Daunnette Moniz-Reyome shares her family’s journey to retain the sacred rituals and values of their culture in the wake of centuries of loss from disease, war and government policies.
Season Four will address the climate crisis. Many young people are acutely aware that they face a future impacted by the negative effects of climate change. Now they are leading the call to promote climate justice.
To meet this moment, we will support four visionary young storytellers, supplying professional mentors and high-level production capabilities — hallmarks of the BYkids approach. We have two films in production by a teen climate activist in Germany and a beekeeper seeking environmental justice in Kentucky. We are also planning to address ocean health and immigration.
These Season Four filmmakers will bring diverse perspectives on how climate change is affecting their communities, and how young movement leaders are responding to this challenge.
We know from experience that their perspectives will surprise us, and that their stories will resonate with audiences across America and beyond.
Eighteen-year-old Rinzin Jurmey from Bhutan decided to become a monk and student of Buddhism when he was eleven years old. While many of his peers in modern schools are more materialistic, Jurmey enjoys a contemplative lifestyle. Bhutan, a small nation which was cut off from the rest of the world until only a few decades ago, uses a Gross National Happiness Index rather than gross domestic product to measure economic and moral progress and promote Buddhist spiritual values. But tourism, technology, and globalization have had a major impact on the country. As Jurmey travels between his monastery, his mountain village, and the city, he meets with hip hop dancers, video game enthusiasts, and sports fans, seeking to understand the intersection of tradition and pop culture. With guidance from cinematographer Cat Papadimitriou, Jurmey documents the ways in which he–and his country–are striving to preserve ancient practices while embracing modernity.
New York metro area, THIRTEEN: Sunday, April 25, at 7:30 PM
National viewers, please check your local listings.
Sixteen-year-old Faith Guilbault, from Baltimore, Maryland, loves skydiving and horseback riding and has walked the runway at Fashion Week in New York City. She is also one of 61 million people in the US living with a disability. Guilbault is visually impaired and has cerebral palsy, which affects her ability to move and maintain balance and posture. Yet she does not want anyone to feel sorry for her. She is resilient, hard-working, and determined to realize her dreams. With guidance from filmmaker Joyce Chopra, Guilbault shines light on her world, inviting viewers to focus on the similarities rather than differences between abled and disabled people.
New York metro area, THIRTEEN: Sunday, April 25, at 7:00 PM
National viewers, please check your local listings.
Nineteen-year-old Semon Shabaev, a Jewish native of Berlin, is proud of his religious and cultural heritage, attending a Jewish school, participating in a Jewish theater group, and playing on a Jewish soccer team in his hometown. As the last generation of Holocaust survivors fades into history, a new wave of Jews, including Shabaev’s family, has emigrated to the country that attempted to eradicate them. Shabaev interviews community leaders, friends, and rabbis, observes a remembrance service, and facilitates a cross-cultural workshop as he examines German-Jewish identity. Mentored by filmmaker Anja Baron, Shabaev shines a light on resurgent Jewish life in Germany at a time of rising worldwide antisemitism.
New York metro area, THIRTEEN: Sunday, April 18, at 7:30 PM
National viewers, please check your local listings for air dates beginning April 6, 2021.
Teens document antisemitism, disability, generational trauma and globalization in Season Three of Films BYkids airing on public television beginning April 6, 2021.
The new season of Films BYkids presents teenagers from diverse cultures documenting their experience of struggle and triumph dealing with antisemitism, disability, generational trauma and globalization. A collaboration between THIRTEEN and BYkids, Films BYkids pairs accomplished filmmakers with teens from around the world to create short personal documentaries that encourage understanding about universal issues and help foster empathy and global citizenry.
In the New York metro area, the series begins airing on Sunday, April 18, at 7:00 p.m. on THIRTEEN.
Sunday, April 18, at 7:00 PM for AGAINST THE CURRENT
Sunday, April 18, at 7:30 PM for L’CHAIM
Sunday, April 25, at 7:00 PM for FAITH’S WORLD
Sunday, April 25, at 7:30 PM for BUDDHISM, BHUTAN AND ME
National viewers, please check your local listings for air dates beginning April 6, 2021.
AGAINST THE CURRENT screens at the Cinejoy Film Festival March 20-30 as part of a lineup of 200 films from 55 countries (111 of them world and U.S. premieres) and virtual experiences for a 10-day event that kicks off March 20.
A group of 20 college kids from the Transdisciplinary Education and Arts Collaboration Hub (TEACH) imagined and organized a powerful night of film, conversation and engagement by partnering with the California Film Institute EDUCATION and BYkids with a screening of I COULD TELL YOU ‘BOUT MY LIFE (documenting Mike Martin’s return to Harlem after five months on Rikers Island), a live conversation between director Mike Martin and his mentor Chiemi Karasawa and moderated by Kenyamarie Mahone (TEACH member and Pomona College student) with a lively audience Q&A, a virtual after party featuring musical performances by Mike Martin, New York-based poet/Hip-Hop artist Messiah Ramkissoon and percussion artist Bashiri Johnson and an opportunity to TAKE ACTION.
We welcome two new Board members who bring amazing expertise to our mission, Maya Kopytman and Brian Mateo. Maya Kopytman is a partner at C&G Partners in New York City, a multi-specialty creative studio dedicated to design for culture. She has three decades of design experience and is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in interactive media. After more than a decade at IconNicholson, where she served as Chief Creative Officer, Maya joined C&G Partners in 2006, where she leads interactive, web and branding for non-profit and cultural institutions.
Brian Mateo is Bard College’s Associate Dean of Civic Engagement and Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Globalization and International Affairs Program. Brian is also a term member on the Council on Foreign Relations, a trustee at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, a Truman National Security Project fellow and a Climate Reality Leader.
