BYkids

BYkids REAL-WORLD FILMS FOR KIDS, BY KIDS.

Learn more about BYkids and our mission to catalyze empathy, connection and change: https://bykids.org/

Teachers can get materials on all our videos to help your students get more connected with the global community and inspire positive change: https://bykids.org/for-teachers/

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Filmmaking 101. Here’s what we’ve learned from years of producing youth-made documentary films: No gatekeeping.Going in ...
06/02/2026

Filmmaking 101. Here’s what we’ve learned from years of producing youth-made documentary films: No gatekeeping.

Going in underprepared shows. But going in so prepared that there’s no room for surprise shows too. Documentary magic lives in that gap.

Do the work before the shoot. Read everything you can find. Talk to people connected to the story with the camera off. Learn the history, the context, the names. But hold it all loosely. The story you arrive with is almost never the story you leave with, and a documentary that only confirms what you already thought isn’t really a documentary - it’s an illustration.

The shoot is where you find out what the film is truly about. Stay curious enough to follow the answer you didn’t expect, the silence you didn’t plan for, the person who wasn’t supposed to be the main character. That’s the film. The prep just got you in the room.

Last Friday, the BYkids films BUDDHISM, BHUTAN AND ME and MY COUNTRY IS TIBET were screened at the Norton Museum of Art....
06/01/2026

Last Friday, the BYkids films BUDDHISM, BHUTAN AND ME and MY COUNTRY IS TIBET were screened at the Norton Museum of Art. Thank you to all the attendees who came and enjoyed these powerful youth-made documentaries, and a big thanks to the Norton Museum of Art!

Check out our link in the bio to learn more about BYkids

Filmmaking 101: What we’ve learned from years of producing youth-made documentary films: No gatekeeping. The camera is n...
05/31/2026

Filmmaking 101: What we’ve learned from years of producing youth-made documentary films: No gatekeeping.

The camera is not neutral. The moment you point it at someone they feel it, and if they don’t trust you yet, they will give you only a version of themselves. Tidied up, a little performed, trying to say the right thing.
Spend time with your film subject before you start rolling. Ask about things you’re genuinely curious about, not just things you’ve prepped. Be honest about what you’re trying to make and why. Trust is what loosens the performance. And when the mask drops, that’s when the real film starts.

A camera can only capture what’s in the room. Your job, before anything else, is to make the room feel safe enough for the truth to show up.

Filmmaking 101. What we’ve learned from years of producing youth-made documentary films. No gatekeeping.Thinking of crea...
05/28/2026

Filmmaking 101. What we’ve learned from years of producing youth-made documentary films. No gatekeeping.

Thinking of creating a documentary?
Here are a few questions that’ll help you get started:

➦ Does it matter to you, even if you can’t explain why yet?

➦ Is there someone whose experiences you want people to understand?

➦ Is there something happening in your community that the rest of the world doesn’t know about?

If you answered yes to any of those, that’s the beginning of a film idea.
The stories most worth telling are the ones you keep coming back to, the ones that sit with you.
Start there!

Last night, Stories in Motion - BYkids’ first animated film - won First Place in the Commercial Film category at the 56t...
05/23/2026

Last night, Stories in Motion - BYkids’ first animated film - won First Place in the Commercial Film category at the 56th ASIFA-East Animation Festival!

We’re so proud of what we created. Being recognized in a festival dedicated to the art of animation means so much to us.

Huge congratulations to the incredible team who brought this film to life: animator John Schnall, illustrator Yuval Robichek, BYkids Youth Media team member Iris Lau, and producers Holly Carter, Melanie Grisanti, Maya Koptyman and Rom Barnea.




We love seeing the impact BYkids films have in classrooms across the country!
05/21/2026

We love seeing the impact BYkids films have in classrooms across the country!

If you’re in or around the West Palm Beach area on Friday, May 29, please join us at the Norton Museum of Art for the sc...
05/14/2026

If you’re in or around the West Palm Beach area on Friday, May 29, please join us at the Norton Museum of Art for the screening of two BYkids Films: BUDDHISM, BHUTAN AND ME and MY COUNTRY IS TIBET, followed by a Q&A sesh with BYkids Founder Holly Carter. Grab your tickets at the link in our bio.

05/12/2026

Welcome to our new series: Film Under a Minute, where BYkids Youth Media Team member Iris Lau presents a BYkids film for a quick glimpse into its inspiring story.

Stories help us understand and connect with others more deeply. We’re grateful to Bill Meyer and the EMA Foundation for ...
05/08/2026

Stories help us understand and connect with others more deeply.
We’re grateful to Bill Meyer and the EMA Foundation for believing in the power of authentic storytelling.

So happy to announce that we started our very own Substack - a place to share more about what goes into our work, our yo...
05/05/2026

So happy to announce that we started our very own Substack - a place to share more about what goes into our work, our young filmmakers and the world behind their films. Link in bio to subscribe.

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