NEWS

April 22, 2021

“Buddhism, Bhutan and Me” Airing on Public Televison

April 22, 2021

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.

April 21, 2021

BYKIDS PARTICIPATING IN THE 2021 WNET YOUTH COLLECTIVE SUMMIT, FROM PASSION TO ACTION

April 21, 2021

Join BYkids at the WNET Youth Collective Summit 2021 for Session #3/Taking Action on April 28 from 7 pm to 8:30 pm Eastern.

In addition to a panel with Changemaker Award recipients Nupol Kiazolu, Dustin Liu and Meera Dasgupta about their work as youth leaders, our BYkids workshops will focus on how young people can take action.

We will lead two workshops: Documentary Filmmaking for Change. For students interested in documentary filmmaking, we will give young people a stage to share their perspectives on today’s most pressing global issues by empowering them to explore topics that impacts us all. In this session, explore how filmmaking can be a form of action and shed light on issues that are important to us all.

TICKETS HERE

April 19, 2021

“FAITH’S WORLD” Airing on Public Televison

April 19, 2021

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.

April 14, 2021

“L’Chaim” Airing on Public Televison

April 14, 2021

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.

April 11, 2021

FILMMAKER OF “AGAINST THE CURRENT” SHARES HER STORY WITH A PICTURE’S WORTH

April 11, 2021

In this special episode of A Picture’s Worth: Refocusing Narratives, award-winning documentary filmmaker and teen Daunnette Moniz-Reyome shares the story behind a single frame of AGAINST THE CURRENT that shows her in conversation minutes before her long-awaited feathering ceremony. 

The BYkids’ film, which debuts on public television in April 2021, was named Best Documentary Student Short at the 2020 Woodstock Film Festival and won the Emerging Filmmakers Award at the Socially Relevant Film Festival.

“It felt like in that moment, it was like all these women really became like, like mothers to me and like a sister to me,” says Daunnette.

Daunnette Reyome’s feathering ceremony in August 2019 was a testament to the strength of the women in her life. The image she chose for this special APW episode shows a scene just before the ceremony, where she is surrounded by her mother, her Auntie Marissa, her Auntie Shelby (who holds her ceremonial feather) and Shelby’s daughter Sidney, who has become like a sister to her. Reyome was selected by the New York-based nonprofit BYkids to direct a documentary about her life in Nebraska, and that film, Against the Current, debuts on PBS this month. In advance of its release, Reyome took the time to connect with APW for this exciting collaboration. LISTEN HERE

April 5, 2021

PBS LEARNINGMEDIA OFFERS GRADES 7-12 SCHOOL MATERIAL FOR SEASON THREE FILMS

April 5, 2021

Films BYkids pairs master filmmakers with teenagers from around the world to create short personal documentaries that encourage understanding and engagement about globally relevant issues. The young storytellers featured in Films BYkids grew up experiencing the effects of exile, illiteracy, disease, war, and bigotry.

Learn tips and strategies for teaching with digital media, get the story behind the FILMS BYKIDS series, and find out about ways to enrich and expand student understanding with this free webinar recording from EdWeb.

Additional classroom resources are available on the BYkids website. You can watch the full-length films on Thirteen.org. Extend the learning with PenPal Schools, an organization that connects students from around the world to learn and share perspectives on Films BYkids .

What educators are saying about Films BYkids:

“The films are fascinating for me and my students. They offer a perspective that my American students rarely see–that of a child in another part of the world.” 

“The films not only inform, they engage students’ imagination and passion–which is always at the heart of true learning, true understanding and insight.” 

“[These films are] important in building bridges of understanding across cultures.”

AGAINST THE CURRENT Educational Material

BUDDHISM, BHUTAN AND ME Educational Material

L’CHAIM Educational Material

FAITH’S WORLD Educational Material

Finally, a THIRTEEN blog features POET AGAINST PREJUDICE in a roundup of Arab Americans in the news and films, a bit of NY history, and featured partners including BYkids. https://www.thirteen.org/blog-post/arab-american-heritage-month/

April 1, 2021

Season Three of Films BYkids airing on public television beginning April 6, 2021

April 1, 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.

April 1, 2021

MIKE MARTIN IS NAMED JUDGE IN THE VIDEOS FOR CHANGE COMPETITION

April 1, 2021

This is impact! Mike Martin, BYkids director of I COULD TELL YOU ‘BOUT MY LIFE is named a judge for the 2021 US Videos for Change competition run by our friends at High Resolves. Middle and high school students are invited to submit a one-minute video about the social issue they are most passionate about, with the goal of inspiring others to care about the issue and take action. Deadline is April 30.

March 25, 2021

“FAITH’S WORLD” SELECTED FOR RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL IN SEPTEMBER

March 25, 2021

FAITH’S WORLD is an official selection of the RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. 16-year-old Faith Guilbault from Baltimore, Maryland loves skydiving, horseback riding and has walked the runway at Fashion Week in New York City. She is also one of 61 million people in the United States 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 people living with and without a disability.

The Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF) screens more than 125 international cutting edge films, making it one of the Mid-Atlantic’s largest international competitive festivals. The festival will run September 7-12, 2021

March 21, 2021

“AGAINST THE CURRENT” DIRECTOR WINS EMERGING FILMMAKERS AWARD AT SOCIALLY RELEVANT FILM FESTIVAL NEW YORK

March 21, 2021

Daunnette Moniz-Reyome, director of AGAINST THE CURRENT, wins the Emerging Filmmakers Award at the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival in New York. Congratulations to Daunnette and her mentor, Evan Mascagni.