Press & Events

TALKING WALLS is Turning Heads in Colorado Springs

TALKING WALLS was inspired by Nancy’s curiosity about the many beautiful murals on the walls in downtown Colorado Springs. As she and her husband, photographer John Atkinson, came upon more and more murals throughout the city, she marveled at the creative output of the city’s artist community. When she discovered that the Broadmoor … Read more »

SPARK & KILN on the Festival Circuit

SPARK & KILN, featuring Colorado Springs artists Don and Maxine Green, will be presented at the Nacogdoches Film Festival, February 25-27, 2016 in Nacogdoches, Texas, at the 11th Annual Durango International Film Festival, March 2-6, 2016 in Durango, Colorado, and at the Clean Shorts Film Festival in Chocktaw, Oklahoma April 1-2, 2016. SPARK & KILN answers … Read more »

MILITARY LIFE ON THE HOMEFRONT Premiere

The premiere screening of MILITARY LIFE ON THE HOMEFRONT, hosted by The Bemis School of Art at Library 21C was a great success! Yulia, Michelle, and Angel were able to attend and they fielded many questions with eloquence and great poise. Tara Thomas of the Bemis School coordinated some cookies … Read more »

Premiere Announced for YDA’s Military Families Program

Next Monday, November 30th we will be screening MILITARY LIFE ON THE HOMEFRONT, a film completed by 7 YDA students this past summer as part of our Military Families program. This event is being co-hosted with the Bemis School of Art and will also include the film HEALING THROUGH ART … Read more »

2015 YDA World Premiere

On October 20, 2015, nearly 300 people crammed into the main theatre at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (FAC) to see twelve new films by the 2015 graduating class of the Youth Documentary Academy. YDA Founder and Director Tom Shepard introduced the films by thanking partners and donors for … Read more »

2015 YDA Premiere Announced

Join us on Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 6:30pm,  at the Fine Arts Center SaGaJi Theater for a premiere screening of the 2015 Youth Documentary Academy (YDA) films. Twelve short films will be presented ranging in topics from teenage suicide to open versus closed adoptions to gender identity to the politics of … Read more »

Documentary Production Bootcamp Film Screening

Save the Date:  TUESDAY, October 6, 2015 at 7PM The Bemis School of Art in partnership with Tom Shepard, Aaron Burns and the Youth Documentary Academy, introduced a new Documentary Production Bootcamp for adults this past summer.  Six students participated in the seven week program and learned all aspects of documentary filmmaking.  … Read more »

Documentary Production Bootcamp Offered for Adults

Continuing our partnership with The Bemis School of Art and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Tom Shepard, Aaron Burns and the Youth Documentary Academy, will be offering a new Documentary Production Bootcamp for adults this summer. Students will participate in the seven week program to learn all aspects of documentary filmmaking … Read more »

YDA Filmmakers win top awards in Boulder

Four Youth Documentary Academy filmmakers were represented at the Boulder International Film Festival last weekend, March 7, 2015.  Bailey Francisco’s film AFTER WAR was screened in the main festival’s short documentary program alongside Academy Award winning filmmaker Lucy Walker’s THE LION’S MOUTH OPENED. Destiny Rinder, whose film ONE IN SIX competed in the … Read more »

Four YDA films premiere at Rocky Mt. Women’s Film Fest

Four YDA films, GRAFFITI’S TRUE COLORS, OUR FOREVER HOME, BUG OUT, and AFTER WAR, were featured at the 2014 Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival in Colorado Springs, Colorado November 7-9, 2014.  Filmmakers Tino Pacheco-Johson, Sandy Schwertfeger, Andre Zimmermann and Bailey Francisco introduced their films to packed audiences and answered questions … 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


We were struck by how deeply students were willing to delve into difficult topics, often personal stories, and handle that material with real sensitivity.

Tara Thomas, Director of Education, Bemis School of Art