Teen Files 15 Minute Preview from Rodrigo Torres on Vimeo.
Challenge Denver brings out the red carpet at the Starz FilmCenter on May 12th, from 11:00am - 2pm, for the Student Film Festival, a one day event bringing awareness to Challenge Day; an anti-bullying program that has been brought to nearly 3000 students in 7 Denver Public Schools. The Festival will screen seven films by students sharing their own words on the impact of Challenge Day. Reina Guiterrez, principal of Hamilton Middle School said, "Challenge Day is heartfelt. It is engaging and reflective. Challenge Day should be required."
This academic year, 20 Challenge Days were held in 7 DPS schools - Denver School of the Arts, Manual, and South High Schools as well as, Kepner, Hamilton, Rishel, and Grant Beacon middle schools. Each school was given the opportunity, skills and equipment to create a short (5-7 minutes) film that expressed their own Challenge Day experience.
"We see miracles every Challenge Day - so we thought what better way to share this and end oppression in our schools than giving the young people, so impacted, a voice and means of expression through film?" stated Betsy Leighton, Executive Director, Challenge Denver.
Participating in the film festival are Challenge Day founder Rich Dutra-St John, Academy Award winner Donna Dewey, Mayor John Hickenlooper, Denver Scholarship Foundation, Denver Film Society, and over 200+ DPS students in celebrating the work of Challenge Day in opening hearts, transforming lives, and creating safe schools where every child can feel respected and loved.
"The work of Challenge Denver has been an extraordinary model that we hope can be followed nationwide," said Founder of the nationally recognized Challenge Day, Rich Dutra-St John.
