Press & Events
Shifting the Lens: Real Film. Real Talk.
March 5, 2026 ENT Center for the Arts, Colorado Springs REAL FILMS Meals are provided, creating a moment to pause, share lunch, and settle into the films together. Doors open at 11:30 AM. We encourage you to arrive early to grab your meal and be seated before the program begins. … Read more »
2025 World Premiere Highlights
On November 9th, at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts at Colorado College, YDA presented the World Premiere of new films produced by the Class of 2025. This year, 11 budding filmmakers unveiled impactful and poignant works to a record audience of over 500 attendees. The films focused on a … Read more »
2025 World Premiere on November 9th
November 9, 2025 | Join our host and moderator, Ashley Cornelius, as she introduces us to the next generation of filmmakers. Eleven new bold works of art that will inspire, illuminate and surprise.
ReFOCUS Wednesdays
JUNE 25 6:00-8:00pm June 4, 11, 18, 25 4 Wednesdays of Community Screenings + Conversations 1) Meet the NEW 2025 students and hear their stories 2) Get a sneak peek of the YDA [ OUR TIME ] PBS Series! 3) Q+A with filmmakers, YDA staff and community members 4) Discuss … Read more »
Shifting the Lens: Real Film, Real Talk
February 25, 2025 ENT Center for the Arts, Colorado Springs The Ent Center at UCCS and the Youth Documentary Academy present a transformative day of film and conversation exploring mental health topics, including breaking barriers, intergenerational trauma, and navigating the challenges of isolation. REAL FILMCurated by the UCCS Social Work … Read more »
2024 WORLD PREMIERE OF NEW FILMS A SUCCESS
WATCH TEASER HERE On Saturday, November 16, at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts at Colorado College, YDA presented the World Premiere of new films produced by the Class of 2024. From immigration and body image, to faith and family, from homelessness and namesakes to memory and motherhood, 13 budding … Read more »
YDA National Award Winner Olive Van Eimeren featured on KOAA
https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/teen-documentarian-from-manitou-springs-wins-national-film-festival
YDA Profiled in CS Indy, November 2022
https://www.csindy.com/food_and_culture/culture/ambitious-local-filmmakers-have-a-lot-to-gain-from-olive-van-eimeren-s-documentary-win/article_dab1ce70-6490-11ed-93ce-9f5b256502e4.html
OUR TIME featured as Top Story in Denver’s Westword
https://www.westword.com/arts/youth-documentary-academy-films-play-on-pbs-12290813
Apply Today for YDA 2022
WRITERS PHOTOGRAPHERS STORYTELLERS FILMMAKERS ADVOCATES APPLY HERE The Youth Documentary Academy (“YDA”) is an intensive, eight-week summer documentary filmmaking fellowship serving teenagers, with under-represented voices, in Southern Colorado from ages 14-18. From initial concept to final edit and distribution, you will learn the process of documentary filmmaking, including hands-on training … Read more »
While walking around Boulder, so many people came up to me and my dad to thank me for making AFTER WAR.
Bailey Francisco, 17
