The 13th Annual Youth Diversity Film Festival for Middle and High School students is presented by Robert McCune, Director of the BHERC Youth Diversity Film Festival. These aspiring young filmmakers study their craft at organizations and schools across the globe.
BHERC is proud to spotlight shorts created by diverse youth. These film screenings and panel dialogues are an opportunity for emerging young directors to showcase their skills, talent and vision, while giving the audience a chance to view and discuss the artistry, passion and sacrifice involved in the independent film making process.
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BHERC looks forward to presenting quality virtual film screenings and content.
Youth Ticket Purchases
Please use the ticket button above to purchase special discounted tickets for youth/students only. All other ticket purchases please use the red “Buy or Redeem Ticket” button to the right and below.
Films
All films are viewable anytime from Friday, March 3rd at 5:00pm PST/8:00pm EST until Sunday, March 12th at 11:59pm PST.
"An Opportunity" follows Rory (Ryanne Parker), a sixteen-year-old non-binary theatre kid who suffers from bullying at school. After their bully (Kirsten Vanderspek) discovers that Rory is playing the female diva lead in the musical, the teasing only increases. When their best friend (Connie Cavaliere) and love interest (Alice Boyce) start to ignore them, how will Rory handle it?
During the week of Hanukkah, Asher and Sadie are snowed in during a blizzard. Asher is a shell-shocked PTSD victim and Sadie is his caregiver. As the days of Hanukkah progress, Sadie's comfortability in the house diminishes.
Alison is a teenage girl struggling with problems at home, she tries her best to fight those issues but ultimately makes a life changing decision.
A burnout kid Brian Reed falls asleep in class and wakes up to find a dark secret about his teachers.
In light of Suicide Prevention Month, I made a short film. This film is not intended to tell people what to do, but more to show them what is happening. We are living in a screen-filled world and are polluting it with throwaway jokes that are seriously harmful. This then filters into everyday conversations, leaving someone who does feel suicidal or has felt suicidal no space to be free from the unwanted and intrusive thoughts that already overwhelm them. The graphic and violent descriptions we use to express ourselves take away from the ability to express suicidal feelings, reducing the impact therefore the acknowledgement. The frequency of these comments will lead and has led to the normalisation of a seriously debilitating mental state. When we say “I’m gonna kill myself” in a jokey context we make it so difficult for someone to say when they actually feel this way. Suicide is not a joke and it’s on us to do our bit as things can change.
When careless teens mess with witchcraft, the unspoken horrors they've awoken will have their revenge.
A few weeks after the events of the first short three teens stumble upon the corpse of the Boy, only to then be hunted or “haunted” by someone new donning the Bugbear alias.
Old Hobbies Never Die
DARK WATER tells an extraordiary true story of a father who risks his life to smuggle food for his family in the struggling area of Caracas,Venezuela. The animation was directed in a surreal way which binds the father and his daughter’s fate with the Caribbean sea where he earns his living but also where he lost his life.
The mind is a daunting place. It lures you when you are lost, in one way or the other. Deep End is that experience, as we navigate our fears without a compass.
Domino Effect tells the story of three young filmmakers who set out to break the conformities women of color are forced to follow, and to highlight how these have negatively impacted mental health over decades. With an array of personal anecdotes that expand into a mosaic of insight from professionals, these young women are on a journey to find hope for a better future.
Walker, a nervous young man who doesn't get out much, attends his first high school party and meets the girl of his dreams. As the night unfolds, the two get closer and closer, and Walker truly believes he has found the one. But is she really his Dream Girl? Or does she have other plans in mind?
An Internet Scammer who intermittently questions his morals, attains the opportunity to fraud an elderly woman. Despite this being his largest scam, after learning more about the woman it becomes his most difficult.
The film is the story of Maryam, a 17-year-old athlete who wants to participate in the national team's qualifiers, which will face difficulties in this way, but la there is all her efforts to win....
"Fitting In" is a symbolic social-impact film that draws a parallel between fitting into shoes and fitting into society, and, in doing so, it inspires us to embrace our unique personalities.
“Fix My Car” is an anti-racism and random act of kindness themed film. The film is about a Caucasian woman whose car breaks down and an African-American man helps her with her car.
Fringe is a pilot concept by the Bomar Brothers following a troubled gambler (Tracy Lee) who embarks on a repetitive journey in a surreal land that is not all that it seems, in which he lives through the fluctuations and vagaries of a life lived on the fringe of an alternate reality, that is both comedic and dramatic.
A group of associates meet to finalize a high-stakes business deal that will lead to the end for one of them, but which one will be finished? Game Plan is a story that explores the dynamics between friendship and business as well as perceptions of power and control.
What happens when 3 computer programming students that completly hate each other get stuck in one house for 21 days.
A short psychological thriller-esc film about reality and familial relationships.
Hija Callada (The Silent Daughter) introduces us to three different women from three different generations and families, who all discuss their trauma and stories involving the generational trauma within their families.
Feeling neglected, a troubled young man gets trapped in a room plagued by doubt, darkness, and despair.
An intimate portrayal of grief, loneliness and obsession, Lightfoot and Dawson's 'Ironing Board' presents how a down-and-out young man develops an unhealthy attachment with an inanimate object to cope with the relationships crumbling in his life.
'Live Alive' is an inspirational short film, that delves into the usage of phones and digital devices in our modern societies. It particularly targets the fact that we miss out on so much when we are looking down at a screen.
A young man reflects back on his relationship with his girlfriend and their fight with addiction.
The film "I am. My eleven years. War" is the debut film of a young director (11 y), actress, swimmer and dancer from Ukraine, Marusya Shuvalova. The short film shows an ordinary day of a ukrainian girl during the war with the Russian occupiers. Her life is filled with fear, air raids and a great desire to learn, train, develop, and most importantly, stay alive. Ukrainian children now live one day and constantly think about whether the Russian invaders will destroy their houses with rockets or not? Will they have time for training or will they again need to sit in a shelter or a bomb shelter? When will they be able to return to their normal peaceful life?
In a creepy meatball restaurant, Hannah, a nervous foodie, must crush her interview for her dream job as a food critic. While the interview happens, a sinister force brews from within the chilling establishment.
Mina is a Korean-American teenager who wants to be more Korean than American. But between her estranged father and her new friends, nothing goes as she planned. A thought-provoking story about overcoming identity crisis as a Third Culture Kid.
Two friends quickly realize the gorgeous necklace they got for free may have come with a cost far more than they were ever expecting...
Documentarian Milton Muybridge, while in the process of investigating the disappearance of the eminent artificial intelligence scientist Talos Rosen, interviews Brigitte Helm, a waitress, and sole survivor of an ill-fated dinner party in which all the guests go missing in a curious manner. What does it all mean? Did they disappear... or did something else happen?
Short animated film highlighting the struggles children and women face to be seen and treated fairly and equally in society around the world.
Out On A Ledge is a short film produced and directed by Alberton School 7th-8th STEM students that are engaging in project-based learning. The film entails the Petty Creek bighorn sheep herd's importance to the Alberton community and how we can protect them for generations to come.
The details, the hands, the components—these are what make us human. What we do is all about this. Diferences.
Dead ends after dead ends. Felix is lost in the investigation revolving around his missing sister's case UNTIL... a mysterious package containing a locked chest arrives at his doorstep.
An exploration of the commercialization of Pride today, asking whether it contributes to—or detracts from—support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Reminiscence is a film that revolves around a former actor, who longs for her fame years when she was young and beautiful. In this film, I intend to portray the theme of time, and the inevitable consequences of it to suggest that to be at peace, one should accept the reality and move on.
A girl is scarely running out of a forest to meet a meadow as always. She always knows that she can find a better self in the meadow with the sun and the flowers . It is not like the forest .
School plays a huge role in a child’s future, influencing things such as their personalities, actions, and beliefs. When the education system ingrains harmful ideologies into young children, it encourages them to be ignorant of what’s around them. That is why it’s important for children to be exposed to different perspectives, so that they have the opportunity to form their own opinions. This film explores the disadvantages girls and non-gender conforming students face in the education system, told by students themselves, along with teacher perspectives.
This is the story of a student who struggles with anxiety about signing up for the football team after being bullied into thinking he isn't good enough. Can he gain the courage to sign up for the team and make it past tryouts?
For most of the youth nowadays, social media plays a big role in their life. Their hands hold endless possibilities. With the big impact of social media to the country, from every home to the society, how does social media influence the choice, beliefs, and actions of the youth today?
Taking his final march through the halls of the prison he spent the last 2 decades of his life in, Martin Charter’s freedom is finally within reach. He takes his first step out of the prison and breathes in the fresh air. Hope. Martin robbed a bank 20 years ago but now he has another shot at life. This time, he has no intention of letting it go to waste.
A boy sneaks into a high school dorm at night to make a bagel and unexpected things happen
Many struggle with period poverty and it affects them in a way where it is detrimental to both their physical and mental health. Not only are period products charged as luxury items, despite being necessities, but schools and public restrooms don’t provide sanitary products, making it difficult for those experiencing period poverty to access safe and inexpensive products. This causes them to turn to using unsanitary or even dangerous products instead. In this film, we discuss the causes and effects of period poverty on menstruators´ lives as well as what you can do to help.
Elonin is a happy playful boy who caught a bird that he made his pet. His happiness ended when he found out his pet bird became his hungry grandmother's snack. He missed his pet so much he felt deep sadness.
"Your behavior always returns." A runner, practicing for the race, consumes countless amounts of plastic bottles throughout the rigorous practice. He overlooks his action, resulting in himself being overwhelmed by plastic bottles surrounding his body, "returned" like a boomerang.
Elonin is a happy playful boy who caught a bird that he made his pet. His happiness ended when he found out his pet bird became his hungry grandmother's snack. He missed his pet so much he felt deep sadness.
A documentary that describes the story of the renovation of the two southernmost lighthouses in land Europe, from the point of view of the architect who undertook their reconstruction. The project was difficult and full of unexpected incidents, but he and his team managed to complete it successfully.
Claudio has to keep the lamp lit, or so he has been led to believe
Pina was never used to responsibilities and doing tasks, she is a carefree girl with no life skills. One day her mother got sick and she had to take on her mother's tasks. It was a horrible experience, her mother could not rest and recover as Pina became an additional burden instead of help. Mother in frustration left a curse that changed Pina's life.
Based from a folktale from Laguna that has always been often shown as silly fun friendships. The real story was more than friendships turning sour. A clueless Monkey sought the help of a street smart Turtle, lazy added to clueless, Monkey instead of learning the ropes, tried to take advantage of the efforts of his mentor friend the Turtle. Turtle will not allow this to happen, in a series of actions of getting even, the story went from naughty to nasty. Turtle kills Monkey, and gets back at the group of monkeys that started this all. We retell a classic tale from Laguna as it was shared for generations.
The overall plot of the film is about a cello player who falls in love, and we watch his heartbreak and how he begins losing his sanity through music. We see how as he experiences different emotions, the colors of the film change as he plays throughout the film. The piece that was played was cellist Ryan Rose and pianist Claire Zhao, and they played Sicilienne,” by M.T. Von Paradis. The purpose of the song is to carry the story along and pull all the shots together since it’s the cello player’s song.
The Reflection on the Screen is a documentary film highlighting the negative effects of social media and how beauty standards can be damaging to young girls and women alike. Using a range of personal perspectives, intimate shots, and impactful statistics, this film highlights the damaging effects of social media on youth, particularly femme-identifying youth.
We revisit the lives of Aponibolinayen and Aponitolao, now married they have a son and the hero of our story. His life as an obedient son, a bird and a young adult finding his true love that brings him back as a human and as a son to his parents. An adventure filled story mixed with culture and traditions of the Tinguian Tribe.
An overworked waitress relies on her sister, Tia Rosa, to take care of her child but after her sister's unexpected death, she must learn how to become a present mother.
Two friends discuss life, art and love on one fateful night
The god Manama, the deities and diwatas always take care of the people of the earth. Whether the proximity of the earth and sky becomes near or far, there will always be a way to keep touch with the heavens. This was true until a man named Puhak broke the bond. A light and comic presentation on why the sky is high. A Manuvu story.
Confrontation between a young woman and her employer.
Three young women discover how their identities are obscured by society’s standards. The World Through Our Eyes defines the systems of oppression through the lens of a culture web, which expresses their separate identities as young women of color from different marginalized groups.
Underaged Oversexualized is a documentary about a group of teenagers who open up and reveal their own personal stories of unwanted catcalling and grooming from their childhoods. Now that they have grown up, they look back at these experiences and share their thoughts and experiences.
How do we reclaim our bodies and grow to be comfortable in them? And accept ourselves and others even when we’re not? Your Body is Yours delves into society’s current standards of beauty and explores the coexistence of body autonomy and positivity.