YDA Shifting the Lens — Colorado Springs | Everyday Democracy Series

Real Film

Presented by the Youth Documentary Academy and Rocky Mountain PBS, this lunchtime screening features four short documentaries by young adult, local filmmakers exploring mental health, immigration, women’s health, and aging. The films offer personal perspectives that resonate across generations, inviting reflection and connection.

Meals are provided, creating space to step away from the day, share a meal, and engage with the films in a relaxed, communal setting.

Real Talk

Following the screening, audiences are invited into pod conversations held within The Source Never Diminishes, the exhibition in the Gallery of Contemporary Art. These intergenerational conversations feature the people in the films alongside the young adult directors and are facilitated by the UCCS Department of Social Work and Rocky Mountain PBS.

Connections Corridor

Explore the Connections Corridor, featuring community partners, mental health organizations, and public media offering resources and points of connection beyond the screening.

Free Event

Ages 14 and older.

This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required. Questions? Contact the Box Office at tickets@uccs.edu or 719-255-8181

About the Series

This event is part of Everyday Democracy: Stories That Build Us, a community film and conversation series from Rocky Mountain Public Media’s Above the Noise initiative.

The series creates space for something essential: people talking to people about the real stuff of life—everyday experiences like care, work, belonging, childhood, and access to information that shape how we see the world and how we participate in it.

Across three months, Everyday Democracy presents four beautifully crafted films (that friends can find on the RMPBS+ app), each followed by small-group conversations that help build connection across differences and deepen our understanding of one another’s stories.

Above the Noise is Rocky Mountain Public Media’s statewide civic-dialogue series that brings Coloradans together—in person and online—to listen, reflect, and connect. This initiative is part of RMPM’s broader Statewide Civic Engagement effort to strengthen trust, empathy, and participation across all 64 counties of Colorado.