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

2026 Winning Films – Individual Documentaries

MIDDLE SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Adrian Gillette
Brought to You by the Letter R: Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in Sesame Street’s Mission to Desegregate Education
SECOND PLACE
Pavit Thakkar
The Mortgage Backed Crisis of 2008: A House of Cards
THIRD PLACE
Anika Bhandari
Jazz: The Sound of Revolution That Transformed America

HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Chengyue Wu
Stolen Children, Unbroken Nations: Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in Canada's Residential Schools
SECOND PLACE
Enoch Akinbade
Reaction to the Warren County PCB Protests: The Revolution That Reformed the Environmental Justice Movement
THIRD PLACE
Shaunya Kumar
From Baby Snatching to Justice: The Revolution for Family Sovereignty, State Reaction, and the Indian Child Welfare Act’s Reform

2026 Winning Films – Group Documentaries

MIDDLE SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Emery Hobson, Mya Kacal, and Sarah Jackson
Brought to You By the Letter R! As a Reaction to Poverty, Sesame Street Became the Revolutionary Idea That Reformed Children's Television
SECOND PLACE
Haadi Nouman and Viyan Kshettry
Toxic Wake-Up: The 1993 Cleveland Lead Summit That Stirred Citizens and Shaped Reform
THIRD PLACE
Andrew Terrence, Chase Belmont, Colton Schoales, Marion Paulson, and Savannah Gilbert
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: The Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Reform of American Finance