Navigating Freedom

What do eight Utah teenage girls have to say about freedom in 2011? As part of KUED's community outreach surrounding Freedom Riders, eight high school filmmakers have created four very personal films that express what freedom means to them. The half-hour KUED/SpyHop Productions program, Navigating Freedom: A Utah Youth Perspective.

In "Even Handed," Samantha Highsmith, an Ogden High senior, tells the story of walking into class with an HRC (Human Rights Commission) sticker on one of her notebooks. When another student asked her what it stood for, she explained it was about gay rights. The student looked at her and asked, "Are you Lesbian?" When she replied "No," he asked her "Why do you care?" Gabriella Huggins, a junior at West High, helps Samantha answer the question: Why does a straight teenage girl care about gay rights?

In "My Muslim Eyes," Laela Omar and Loren Ruiz explore how growing up Muslim in a post 9-11 America has affected young Muslims' perspectives on freedom. Another film, "Una Educacion," follows a young girl who emigrated to the U.S. from Mexico to get an education. Candida Duran and Adriana Martinez focus the film on the question of how education helps make us free. In the final film, "Sunday," Erin Cole and Mallory McDaniel focus their camera on a refugee student from Africa.

To find out about the wide variety of exhibits, activities and educational resources available with community partners including Spy Hop Productions, The City Library, Center for Documentary Arts, Salt Lake Community College Community Writing Program, Salt Lake Film Center, and Utah Education Network.