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 Derechos y responsabilidades en la historia. 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 sitio web.
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
La Gran IDEA: Hablar por quienes no pueden hablar por sí mismos
SECOND PLACE
David Gilbert, Cumberland Foreside, ME, Greely Middle School
Tennent v. DuPont: Derechos violados y responsabilidad fallida
THIRD PLACE
Adrian Gillette, Bettendorf, IA, Bettendorf Middle School
Libertad en juicio: Derechos y responsabilidades en el caso de la Junta de Educación de Island Trees contra Pico
INDIVIDUAL SENIOR DIVISION (GRADES 9-12)
FIRST PLACE
Brad Wu, Chandler, AZ, Arizona College Prep High School
Campamento Jened: Una revolución nacida en las montañas
SECOND PLACE
Kalamakūokanaʻauao Crabbe, Waipahu, HI, Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama Campus
La lucha de Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana por los derechos de Kohemalamalama O Kanaloa
THIRD PLACE
William Gao, San Diego, CA, Canyon Crest Academy School
La caída y el auge del lago Mono: la revolución del agua de la doctrina de la confianza pública
GROUP JUNIOR DIVISION (GRADES 6-8)
FIRST PLACE
Passawat Chanyasak, Wewish Mahawong; Chiang Mai, Thailand, Chiang Mai International School
De las minas a los piquetes: la huelga de mineros del Reino Unido de 1984
SECOND PLACE
Helen Collins, Sara Rosenthal; Minneapolis, MN, Sanford Middle School
Radio Europa Libre y Radio Libertad: Derecho a acceder a las noticias, responsabilidad de proporcionarlas
THIRD PLACE
Tynnlie Schram, Paige Nicholson, Sydney Edwards; Akron, IA, Akron Westfield Middle School
Hermanas en el Cielo: Alcanzando nuevas alturas Reivindicando derechos militares
GROUP SENIOR DIVISION (GRADES 9-12)
FIRST PLACE
Sophie Lee, Haydn Mangione, Bryan Lee; Daegu, Korea, Daegu International School
El derecho a escribir: la lucha de la Sociedad de la Lengua Coreana por su lengua materna
SECOND PLACE
Shawn Feng, Emma An, Divya Ariyur, Benjamin Lu; Carmel, IN, Carmel High School
Derechos enterrados y deberes incumplidos: Love Canal y el llamado a la responsabilidad
THIRD PLACE
Julia Choi, Parisa Gopal, Sara Bangale, Miranda Wang, Joy Xia; Houston, TX, Bellaire High School
Los Papeles del Pentágono: Guerra, verdad y libertad de prensa
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.
ACERCA DEL DÍA NACIONAL DE LA HISTORIA® (DNA)
NHD es una organización sin fines de lucro con sede en College Park, Maryland, que busca mejorar la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la historia. Fundada en 1974, NHD actualmente involucra a más de medio millón de estudiantes cada año en la realización de investigaciones originales sobre temas históricos de interés y apoya a los docentes mediante oportunidades de desarrollo profesional. Los estudiantes presentan sus investigaciones en forma de documental, exposición, ponencia, presentación o sitio web. Los proyectos compiten primero a nivel local y de afiliados, donde los mejores proyectos son invitados al Concurso Nacional anual de la Universidad de Maryland en College Park. NHD está patrocinada en parte por la Fundación Benéfica Joyful Noise, la Sociedad Better Angels, la Fundación Familiar Bezos, la Biblioteca del Congreso, la Fundación Dr. Scholl, la Fundación Educativa Global Behring, la Comisión 400 Años de Historia Afroamericana y el Servicio de Parques Nacionales. Para más información, visite nhd.dream.prensa.
CONTACTO CON LOS MEDIOS: DKCTBAS@dkcnews.com
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