NEXT GENERATION ANGELS AWARDS

The Better Angels Society is committed to engaging, mentoring, and empowering the next generation of documentary filmmakers. Student filmmakers uncover different points of view on a topic, critically analyze sources, place events into context, and weave multiple perspectives into a larger narrative—all skills that are essential for the citizens of a healthy democracy.

Partnership with National History Day® (NHD)

The Next Generation Angels Awards is an annual prize sponsored by The Better Angels Society in coordination with National History Day®. The awards celebrate the middle and high school winners in the Individual and Group Documentary Categories 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 receive a mentorship session with the year’s 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. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT NHD
KEN BURNS’ NHD RESOURCES

2025 Winning Films – Individual Documentaries

MIDDLE SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Brinkley Benoit
the Great IDEA: Speaking for Those Who cannot Speak for Themselves
SECOND PLACE
David Gilbert
Tennet v. DuPont: Violated Rights and Failed Responsibility
THIRD PLACE
Adrian Gillette
FREADOM on Trial: Rights and Responsibilities in Island Trees Board of Education v. Pico

HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Brad Wu
Camp Jened: A Revolution Born in the Mountains
SECOND PLACE
Kalamakūokanaʻauao Crabbe
The Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana’s Fight for Kohemalamalama O Kanaloa's Rights
THIRD PLACE
William Gao
The Fall and Rise of Mono Lake: The Public Trust Doctrine's Water Revolution

2025 Winning Films – Group Documentaries

MIDDLE SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Passawat Chanyasak and Wewish Mahawong
From Pits to Pickets: The UK Miners' Strike of 1984
SECOND PLACE
Helen Collins and Sara Rosenthal
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty: Right to Access News, Responsibility to Provide It
THIRD PLACE
Paige Nicholson, Sydney Edwards and Tynnlie Schram
Sisters in the Sky: Reaching New Heights Claiming Military Rights

HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Bryan Lee, Haydn Mangione and Sophie Lee
The Right to Write: The Korean Language Society’s Fight for their Mother Tongue
SECOND PLACE
Benjamin Lu, Divya Ariyur, Emma An and Shawn Feng
Buried Rights and Broken Duties: Love Canal and the Call for Responsibility
THIRD PLACE
Joy Xia, Julia Choi, Miranda Wang, Parisa Gopal, and Sara Bangale
The Pentagon Papers: War, Truth, and Press Freedom
view THE PREVIOUS WINNERS OF the next generation angels awards

This webpage was created by a National History Day® student, Anika Kapoor, through a youth internship program sponsored by The Better Angels Society.