Children Videos - The Documentary Network

Life Before Birth – In the Womb

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 19:13:23 +0000

“My chances are 50-50. Not great odds. And that’s only to get to the starting line. The human race is not for the faint hearted, when half the runners are doomed to die, before the race gets started.” This documentary film explores the development of the growing fetus from conception to delivery. Open a window into the hidden world of the foetus and explore each trimester in amazing detail. It’s meant to be a joyous event, but in reality, it's a gripping battle for survival. Using cutting edge technology, we go inside the womb and follow the incredible nine month journey from conception to birth, showing how the struggle for life turns into the miracle of birth. Enhanced by poet Roger McGough’s reading of a series of poems written for the occasion. “Until now, I thought I was the universe. But everything that is, was within me. Now that I can touch these walls, I realise I must be deep inside a greater universe.”

Burial Boys of Ebola

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 15:04:29 +0000

Ebola Outbreak 2014: In Sierra Leone, a group of young men take on the dirtiest work of the Ebola outbreak: finding and burying the dead. In the campaign against the Ebola virus, which is sweeping across parts of West Africa in an epidemic worse than all previous outbreaks of the disease combined, the front line is stitched together by people like Ms. Sellu: doctors and nurses who give their lives to treat patients who will probably die; janitors who clean up lethal pools of vomit and waste so that beleaguered health centers can stay open; drivers who venture into villages overcome by illness to retrieve patients; body handlers charged with the dangerous task of keeping highly infectious corpses from sickening others. Their sacrifices are evident from the statistics alone. At least 129 health workers have died fighting the disease, according to the World Health Organization. But while many workers have fled, leaving already shaky health systems in shambles, many new recruits have signed up willingly — often for little or no pay, and sometimes giving up their homes, communities and even families in the process. “If I don’t volunteer, who can do this work?” asked Kandeh Kamara, one of about 20 young men doing one of the dirtiest jobs in the campaign: finding and burying corpses across eastern Sierra Leone. When the outbreak started months ago, Mr. Kamara, 21, went to the health center in Kailahun and offered to help. When officials there said they could not pay him, he accepted anyway. “There are no other people to do it, so we decided to do it just to help save our country,” he said of himself and the other young men. They call themselves “the burial boys.” Doctors Without Borders trained them to wear protective equipment and to safely clear out dead bodies potentially infected with Ebola. They travel across backbreaking dirt roads for up to nine hours a day. Ms. Sellu, who is one of the only Ebola workers at the Kenema hospital who have neither contracted the virus nor fled. Credit Samuel Aranda for The New York Times In doing their jobs, the burial boys have become pariahs. Many have been cast out of their communities because of fear that they will bring the virus home with them. Some families refuse to let them return.

Chasing Perfection: A Dream of Cheerleading Glory

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 09 Aug 2014 12:46:34 +0000

Meet The Twinkles. They are competitive cheerleading's elite. This group of 8-12 year-old girls compete at the highest level for their age group. They mix tumbling, modern cheerleading and precise choreography to create a mind-blowing two-and-a-half minute routine that seems impossible for athletes this age. Follow them through the season - as routines are built and re-built, as they balance a grueling schedule with family life, as The Twinkles chase perfection. Written, filmed, narrated and edited by Nyier Abdou Produced and edited by Bumper DeJesus and Seth Siditsky.

Kite Fight

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 15:50:54 +0000

In the crowded favelas of Rio de Janeiro, flying kites is more than a leisurely escape: It's also a playful form of battle. After futebol, kite fighting is one of Brazil’s most popular sports. In the crowded urban favelas, flying a kite (or pipa) is more than a leisurely escape from harsh living conditions; it’s also a form of battle, with the sky an arena. This Op-Doc video takes us into Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela, to meet its young pipa warriors and elder statesman.

Last Chance High – Chicago’s schools for troubled youth

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 06:49:00 +0000

On Chicago's West Side, there is a school for the city's most at-risk youth — the Moses Montefiore Academy. Most of the students at Montefiore have been kicked out of other schools for aggressive behavior, and many have been diagnosed with emotional disorders. Last Chance High takes viewers inside Montefiore's classrooms and into the homes of students who are one mistake away from being locked up or committed to a mental hospital. In the first episode of the eight-part original VICE News series we are introduced to two 14-year-old Montefiore students, Cortez and Crystal, who were sent to the school after violently attacking teachers. Cortez's mother blames the boy's father, who is serving a life sentence for murder. Crystal has stabbed her classmates and been caught shoplifting since arriving to Montefiore — which has left her mother on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Though the task can be overwhelming, the Montefiore staff never gives up trying to reach the city's most difficult and volatile student population. In the second episode of "Last Chance High" we are introduced to the young Montreal "Spanky" Almond who fights a daily battle with a crippling speech impediment along with his fellow students' derision, mockery and bullying at the Moses Montefiore Academy in Chicago.

Stoned Kids

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 08:49:36 +0000

Medical marijuana is legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia, but there are still use cases that are very controversial, like medical marijuana for children. Some claim it's a wonder drug for epilepsy, severe autism, and even to quell the harsh side effects of chemotherapy, while others decry pumping marijuana into still-growing bodies. We went to the small town of Pendleton, Oregon, where medical marijuana is legal, to visit Mykayla Comstock, an eight-year-old leukemia patient who takes massive amounts of weed to treat her illness. Her family, and many people we met along the way, believe not only in the palliative aspects of the drug, but also in marijuana's curative effect—that pot can literally shrink tumors.

America’s Hidden Harvest

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 17:04:18 +0000

The US child labour law is generally considered one of the strongest in the world in preventing minors from working in dangerous industries. But the agricultural sector is a lone exception. On farms, children as young as 12 can legally work with parental approval. And many other children, younger than that, are often found in the fields working illegally. Nobody knows the true number of children at work in the fields, but farmers reported hiring over 200,000 children under 18 in one year alone. Migrant farmworker families are often so poor that they have little choice but to have their children at work harvesting crops. In effect, their children miss school, change school districts, and fall behind in their curriculums. A large majority of migrant children will not graduate from high school or college and will likely fall into the cycle of poverty where they themselves will be working in the fields to support their families. For years, the federal government - both Congress and the US Department of Labor - have considered legislation and new regulations that would raise the legal age for children to work on farms. This was done with migrant children in mind, but the proposed measures have been largely unpopular. Lobbyists for large farming interests and US congressmen have successfully pushed the bill off the national agenda. The American Farm Bureau says the proposed rules are too broad and would put harmful restrictions on American family farmers. But in rural communities across the country, farmworker advocates are fighting back on behalf of migrant families and their children to protect them from labour practices they say are harmful. Robust federal migrant education programmes in US schools have supported children of farm workers trying to help them graduate. We travel to the onion fields of Texas, and the tobacco fields of Kentucky, to investigate how child labour affects migrant families, and who benefits from their work.

Yuck: A 4th Grader’s Short Documentary About School Lunch

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 18:38:13 +0000

Zachary is a fourth grader at a large New York City public elementary school. Each day he reads the Department of Education lunch menu online to see what is being served. The menu describes delicious and nutritious cuisine that reads as if it came from the finest restaurants. However, when Zachary gets to school, he finds a very different reality. Armed with a concealed video camera and a healthy dose of rebellious courage, Zachary embarks on a six month covert mission to collect video footage of his lunch and expose the truth about the City's school food service program. This short documentary provides a fun and spirited insider’s perspective on the elementary school lunch room. In the fall of 2011, fourth grader Zachary Maxwell began asking his parents if he could start packing and bringing his own lunch to school. Unfortunately, they kept insisting that he take advantage of the hot lunch being served at the school. After all, the online menu sounded delicious and the NYC Department of Education (DOE) website assured parents that the meals were nutritious. Zachary wanted to convince his parents that the online menu did not accurately represent what was really being served at his school. In an effort to prove his point, Zachary started sneaking a small HD camera into the lunchroom to show his parents the truth. Over the next six months, Zachary would continue to gather "inside" footage and research the claims being made by the DOE and the media about the City's public school lunch program.

Born Sweet – Winner of 15 Awards

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 15:30:28 +0000

15 year old Vinh lives in a remote Cambodian village and has accepted his destiny – to be sick for the rest of his life with incurable arsenic poisoning. He dreams of becoming a karaoke star, winning the affections of adoring fans. But his body is scarred by illness and there is a good chance the arsenic will soon take his life, like the girl who once lived across the road. A chance to star in a karaoke video about the dangers of arsenic allows Vinh to wonder if he truly knows his destiny. SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking ASPEN SHORTSFEST 2010 Best Documentary ASHLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Best Short Documentary ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Best Short Documentary BARCELONA ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL Jury Mention BIG SUR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Audience Award FINCA ARGENTINA ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD 2010 First Prize HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Audience Award, Best Short Documentary INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OF BOSTON 2010 Grand Jury Prize INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Eric Parker Social Justice Award LOUISVILLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Best Short Documentary PALM SPRINGS SHORTFEST 2010 Audience Award, Best Documentary Short RECONTRES INTERNATIONAL EAU ET CINEMA Bronze Drop SAGUENAY INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Public’s Prize VERVIERS, AU FILM DE L'EAU, BELGIUM First Prize

Tourette Syndrome: Twitch and Shout

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 17:23:45 +0000

We meet children with severe Tourette's and follows their journey to a summer camp where they find they're not alone. Zach, Mario and Cole are three friends who share a remarkable bond. They’re among the most severe cases of Tourette Syndrome in the United States, suffering a range of involuntary verbal and physical tics and sometimes violent outbursts. The neurological condition is often deeply misunderstood by society, leading to feelings from sufferers that they don’t fit in. Aaron Lewis follows the boys to a place they can truly be themselves. It’s the annual Camp Twitch and Shout, a special summer gathering for children with Tourette Syndrome, between the ages of 7 and 17. So why is this camp so special? And what does it mean to the young people who take part? Follow their journey in a powerful story that is both heart breaking and heart warming.

Killer Kids – VICE on HBO: Episode 1

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:39:36 +0000

In this first episode, Ryan Duffy travels to the Philippines to explore the rampant political violence during election season and VICE co-founder Shane Smith heads to Afghanistan to speak with would-be child suicide bombers who were captured before they could kill themselves and others. In the Philippines, election season is more like hunting season. Rivals simply rub out their opponents instead of defeating them at the polls. In the 2010 election year alone, more than 100 people were killed due to political violence. VICE follows the cycle of violence in this gun-crazy island nation all the way from an underground factory where illicit weapons are made to the villages full of young men who can’t wait to get their hands on them. In Afghanistan, senior members of the Taliban are now manipulating children and teenagers into carrying out their suicide bombings. They brainwash illiterate kids not well-versed in their own religion, and even fool them into believing they will survive the blast. VICE meets with young kids who were captured before they blew themselves and others up, as well as some of the victims of these tragic bombings.

Crossover Kids

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:54:03 +0000

In the US more and more children are defining themselves as transgender, throwing up a number of complex questions. Following first-grader Coy Mathis, this report investigates the world of transgender kids. She likes dressing up, gravitates towards the colour pink, and enjoys playing with her dolls...but Coy was born a boy. For kids like Coy, living as the other gender can end years of unhappiness and feelings of "being born into the wrong body". Yet transgender communities face deep social stigma and discrimination in the US. So how young is too young to change sex? Jeannette Francis investigates the complex and fascinating world of transgender children. Backed by medical experts, a growing number of parents in the United States are allowing their kids to live openly as the other gender. For the children involved, the switch can end years of unhappiness and feelings of being trapped in the wrong body. But like other members of the transgender community, they can face deep social stigma and discrimination. So how young is too young to change sex?

Hungry for Change in New York

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:26:38 +0000

Food is at the core of human survival - it can be at the heart of a family's traditions and the key to a nation's cultural identity. It has also been the source of war, conflict and devastation. Natural disasters can wipe out the food supply of an entire country but what happens when you live in the largest economy in the world, where food is ever abundant and yet you may still go to bed at night hungry? Nineteen-year-old Chima, a homeless Nigerian immigrant, takes us on a journey through New York City to reveal what it means to be truly food insecure in the land of plenty. In his own neighbourhood he shows us what unhealthy food choices most of the poor must make each day and how part of the solution may be growing just around the corner. "In making this film we wanted to explore the impact of the food insecurity crisis in New York on those least able to navigate the impact. Going through the city we frequently see fashionably new, expensive restaurants opening with full houses night after night, while just a few blocks over soup kitchens are seeing the desperate crowds returning day after day. In the newest, trendiest grocery stores fresh, organic produce packs the aisles, while in poor neighbourhoods store aisles are packed only with an overabundance of cheap processed food." By David Turner

Baby Box – Unwanted Babies

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 17:46:17 +0000

In this report, we follow a man who's dedicated his life to saving South Korea's unwanted babies. With hundreds of them being abandoned every year, why has the government ordered him to stop? Up to 18 babies a month end up in pastor Lee's Baby Box, a box attached to his house for women to leave their unwanted children in. "The babies that come here are the ones who'd otherwise die," he says. The shame of having a baby out of wedlock leaves many women feeling desperate. But some say the Baby Box encourages mothers to abandon babies without registration, slowing down the adoption process. Pastor Lee's been ordered to shut down his facility, but remains defiant: "There is nothing illegal about saving someone's life." The children are left in his purpose built baby box by desperate mothers, who feel they are no longer able to look after the youngsters themselves. A look at the sad stories of women wanting to escape the stigma of having children out of wedlock, and the heartwarming work of Pastor Lee in caring for them. But it’s a challenging job… new laws on registering births are making it more difficult to find adoptive parents, and some are critical of Pastor Lee for making it too easy to abandon unwanted children.

House of Horror

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 16:45:30 +0000

As America comes to terms with the nightmare of Cleveland's kidnapped girls, people across the country are demanding to know how three young women could be held captive in a suburb, undetected for a decade. "I feel a little heavy hearted that a lot more wasn't known about what was going on in this neighbourhood. It's a surreal thing to think about," says one local resident. For ten years the west side of the city was haunted by the unsolved disappearance of teenage girls Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus. Held captive and made sexual slaves by an unassuming school bus driver by the name of Ariel Castro, they are alleged to have been tied up with ropes and chains, raped and forced to abort pregnancies. Many neighbours are still trying to come to terms with the house of horror revealed in their midst. "He was a good man. We knew him for a long time", says Jovita Marti, a local resident. Meanwhile, finally reunited with their families but fenced in by media and a watchful public, what hope is there that the girls will ever be able to return to normal life?