NEWS

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

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/

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.

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

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.

It was an exciting world premiere screening and panel discussion of L’CHAIM for the Harmonie Club with the young filmmaker (Semon Shabaev), his mentor (Anja Baron), Semon’s sister and best friend – all from Berlin. We all learned so much about what it means to be Jewish and German. L’CHAIM will broadcast as part of the national Films BYkids series on WNET on Sunday, April 18 at 7:30.