Presented by the Youth Documentary Academy and Rocky Mountain PBS, this lunchtime screening features four short documentaries by young adult, local filmmakers exploring mental health, immigration, women’s health, and aging. The films offer personal perspectives that resonate across generations, inviting reflection and connection.
On November 9, we premiered 11 new films to a packed house of community members and partners. Learn more about the event and see the highlights here!
Season 3 of YDA's public television series begins airing nationally via American Public Television April, 2026. Visit youth documentary.org/ourtime for details.
Applications for the YDA class of 2026 are now open. The Youth Documentary Academy (“YDA”) is an intensive, two-month summer documentary filmmaking fellowship serving young people in Southern Colorado from ages 14-20. From initial concept to final edit and distribution, you will learn the process of documentary filmmaking, including hands-on training with digital cameras, sound recording, lighting and interviewing, and digital editing. Working in teams, you will direct your own short documentary film around a topic that matters to you. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2026.
In advance of our Colorado television broadcast this week, Denver's Independent publication, Westword features YDA and OUR TIME
Youth Media Matters Festivals Underway Across Colorado
Filmmaker Madison Legg wins a EMMY for her YDA produced film, UNDER THE WIRE
The Youth Documentary Academy (YDA) prepares a new generation of underrepresented storytellers and helps them locate and amplify their voices through the art of documentary film. Through instruction, production, and distribution, YDA helps young people transpose their own stories into broadly accessible and impactful media, opening the door to courageous conversations.
We need programs like the Youth Documentary Academy to help harness the talent of our young people and to provide them with hope. That they are driven to tell stories from their own communities and develop a craft to do so is a real gift to all of us.
David Dahlin, Former President, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
