Awards honor short films about history made by middle and high school students.
Washington, D.C. — December 9, 2025 — The Better Angels Society, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging Americans with their history through documentary film, is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 Next Generation Angels Awards. The annual awards – a program of The Better Angels Society in partnership with National History Day® (NHD) – are presented to middle and high school documentary filmmakers, in both individual and group categories, recognizing excellence in well-researched history filmmaking in the model of renowned documentarian Ken Burns.
Now in its seventh year, The Next Generation Angels Awards celebrates the student winners with mentorship sessions designed to enhance their filmmaking knowledge and skills. The individual documentary winners receive a mentorship session with Ken Burns, and the group documentary winners have a mentorship session with the 2025 Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film awardees. The Next Generation Angels Awards aim to continue Burns’s legacy by engaging and empowering the next generation of documentary filmmakers.
“The winners of the Next Generation Angels Awards demonstrate how making American history documentaries creates civic engagement. The powerful films these young people make and their passion for storytelling is truly inspiring,” said Katherine Malone-France, President and CEO of The Better Angels Society. “We’re honored to be able to connect students with acclaimed documentarians as mentors to deepen their experience and build the next generation of filmmakers to tell the stories of our shared past.”
This year’s winning films were selected from 383 submissions to NHD’s individual and group documentary categories, which are just two of 18 project categories, all created around the 2025 theme of Rights & Responsibilities in History. NHD judges evaluate student entries on criteria such as historical significance, historical argument, and clarity of presentation. The winning films are also available to watch online on The Better Angels Society website.
Funding for The Next Generation Angels Awards is made possible by the generosity of The Fullerton Family Charitable Fund.
2025 NEXT GENERATION ANGELS AWARD WINNERS
INDIVIDUAL JUNIOR DIVISION (GRADES 6-8)
FIRST PLACE
Brinkley Benoit, Baytown, TX, Cedar Bayou Junior High
The Great IDEA: Speaking for Those Who Cannot Speak for Themselves
SECOND PLACE
David Gilbert, Cumberland Foreside, ME, Greely Middle School
Tennent v. DuPont: Violated Rights and Failed Responsibility
THIRD PLACE
Adrian Gillette, Bettendorf, IA, Bettendorf Middle School
FREADOM on Trial: Rights and Responsibilities in Island Trees Board of Education v. Pico
INDIVIDUAL SENIOR DIVISION (GRADES 9-12)
FIRST PLACE
Brad Wu, Chandler, AZ, Arizona College Prep High School
Camp Jened: A Revolution Born in the Mountains
SECOND PLACE
Kalamakūokanaʻauao Crabbe, Waipahu, HI, Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama Campus
The Protect Kaho’olawe ‘Ohana’s Fight for Kohemalamalama O Kanaloa’s Rights
THIRD PLACE
William Gao, San Diego, CA, Canyon Crest Academy School
The Fall and Rise of Mono Lake: The Public Trust Doctrine’s Water Revolution
GROUP JUNIOR DIVISION (GRADES 6-8)
FIRST PLACE
Passawat Chanyasak, Wewish Mahawong; Chiang Mai, Thailand, Chiang Mai International School
From Pits to Pickets: The UK Miners’ Strike of 1984
SECOND PLACE
Helen Collins, Sara Rosenthal; Minneapolis, MN, Sanford Middle School
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty: Right to Access News, Responsibility to Provide It
THIRD PLACE
Tynnlie Schram, Paige Nicholson, Sydney Edwards; Akron, IA, Akron Westfield Middle School
Sisters in the Sky: Reaching New Heights Claiming Military Rights
GROUP SENIOR DIVISION (GRADES 9-12)
FIRST PLACE
Sophie Lee, Haydn Mangione, Bryan Lee; Daegu, Korea, Daegu International School
The Right to Write: The Korean Language Society’s Fight for their Mother Tongue
SECOND PLACE
Shawn Feng, Emma An, Divya Ariyur, Benjamin Lu; Carmel, IN, Carmel High School
Buried Rights and Broken Duties: Love Canal and the Call for Responsibility
THIRD PLACE
Julia Choi, Parisa Gopal, Sara Bangale, Miranda Wang, Joy Xia; Houston, TX, Bellaire High School
The Pentagon Papers: War, Truth, and Press Freedom
ABOUT THE BETTER ANGELS SOCIETY
The Better Angels Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Americans about their history through documentary film. They are the pre-eminent organization supporting American history documentary filmmakers in ways that advance education and civic engagement. The Society works to ensure that films about American history by emerging and established filmmakers are completed, broadcast, promoted, and shared with wide audiences. The organization raises funds to support individual films in partnership with public media and provides recognition and mentoring to student filmmakers through programs like the Next Generation Angels Awards in partnership with National History Day® and the Latest Generation Film Contest in partnership with the Lincoln Presidential Foundation.
ABOUT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY® (NHD)
NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. Established in 1974, NHD currently engages more than half a million students each year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest and supports teachers through professional development opportunities. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the annual National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by the Joyful Noise Charitable Foundation, The Better Angels Society, Bezos Family Foundation, Library of Congress, Dr. Scholl Foundation, Behring Global Educational Foundation, 400 Years of African American History Commission, and the National Park Service. For more information, visit nhd.org.
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