Award-Winning Student Films Showcased

[Frank W. Baker]

Tune-in this Saturday, May 3 at 10:00am ET on C-SPAN for a roundtable discussion with student representatives from the top five prize winning documentaries.

Every year since 2006, C-SPAN has invited students to take part in our annual StudentCam competition and create 5-7 minute long documentaries that focus on our nation’s public policy issues.  

This year’s competition theme was:

“A Message to the U.S. Congress”
What’s the most important issue the U.S. Congress should consider in 2014?

Out of 2,355 videos received, five documentaries earned top honors. Joining us at our roundtable are five students representing each of those documentaries, including:

• Grand Prize winner Emma Larson, representing teammates Michaela Capps and Sarah Highducheck.
  Documentary: "Earth First, Fracking Second" on the economic and environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing.
  
  
• 1st Prize High School West Division winner Shelly Ortiz, representing teammates Nina Nandin and Hannah Hood.
  Documentary: "Diagnosing The Problem" on mental health treatment and diagnosis.
  
  
• 1st Prize High School Central Division winner Andrew Demeter.
  Documentary: "We The People, Genetically Modified?" on genetically modified foods and package labeling.
  
  
• 1st Prize High School East Division winner Donald De Alwis, representing teammates Gabriel Cote and Ajay Kharkar.
  Documentary: "A Murky Future" on water pollution and water treatment.
  
  
• 1st Prize Middle School winner Peter Jasperse, representing teammates Antonia Torfs-Leibman, and Madeleine Hutchins.
  Documentary: "The NSA - The Lengths of America's Security" on domestic government surveillance.

During the interview they'll discuss their documentaries, including how they chose their particular issue, the process of researching that issue, the people they interviewed, what they learned from the experience, and why they believe Congress should address their chosen issue.  

To learn more about the competition and view the complete list of 150 winning documentaries in StudentCam 2014, please visit www.StudentCam.org.

The 2015 StudentCam competition will be announced this summer and we encourage all eligible students in grades 6-12 to consider participating.