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 award is presented to six middle and high school documentary filmmakers to recognize excellence in well-researched history filmmaking in the model of Ken Burns. Each year, The Better Angels Society celebrates the six student winners with a series of events that will enhance their knowledge and skills, including a mentorship session with Ken Burns and the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film Finalists. Additionally, all Next Generation Angels Award films receive a copyright and will exist in perpetuity in the Library of Congress.

LEARN MORE ABOUT NHD
KEN BURNS’ NHD RESOURCES

2024 Winning Films – Individual Documentaries

MIDDLE SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
David Miranda
Miranda v. Arizona: A Turning Point in Safeguarding Individual Rights
SECOND PLACE
Maeve Callahan Schreiber
Sunny Days: A Turning Point In Children’s Television
THIRD PLACE
David Gilbert
The ADA: A Turning Point in Ensuring Access to Civil Rights

HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Jack Gill
A Theory, a Paper, a Turning Point: Claude Shannon’s 1948 “Mathematical Theory of Communication”
SECOND PLACE
Elayna Weintz
The Congo Crisis: an Independence, a Murder, and a Capitalist Takeover
THIRD PLACE
Harmony Yan-Li
Turning Points in History: Frances Kelsey and the Thalidomide Scandal

2024 Winning Films – Group Documentaries

MIDDLE SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Lucas Menendez and Poiema Bernier
Rising from the Ashes: The Cuyahoga River Fire; A Turning Point in American Environmental Policies
SECOND PLACE
Athena Palleja, Chrysanthi Karka, Maria Kostopoulos, Ryan Liu and Zosime Weiss
"OXI": How One Word Changed the Course of WWII
THIRD PLACE
Jaiden Womack, Janelle Okore and Joyce Lee
The Spark That Ignited the Civil Rights Movement: The Children's March of Birmingham

HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION

FIRST PLACE
Maura Armstrong and Teagan Dieterle
The Creation of Sesame Street: A Turning Point in Educational History
SECOND PLACE
Jared Lee and Owen Dong
Protecting the Planet: How the Montreal Protocol Marked a Turning Point in International Cooperation and Environmental History
THIRD PLACE
Emma Manion and Krin Blegen
The Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine: An Irreversible Turning Point in American Media
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.