An insightful, rousing coming-of-age story of a generation of youth leaders determined to take the reigns and fight for justice at a most critical time in our nation’s history. Sparked by the plague of gun violence ravaging their schools, Us Kids chronicles the March For Our Lives movement over the course of several years, following X Gonzalez, its co-founders, survivors and a group of teenage activists as they pull off the largest youth protest in American history and set out across the country and globally to build an inclusive and unprecedented youth movement that addresses racial justice, a growing public health crisis and shocking a political system into change. From Kim A. Snyder, director of the Peabody Award-winning documentary Newtown. 2020, USA, 99 minutes
Tickets are $9.99 and are available in advance HERE.
A discussion with members of Moms Demand Action, Rockland, via Zoom, will be held on Tuesday, May 25, at 7:00PM. Register for the discussion HERE. More information about the discussion will be added soon.
To me, the film is a coming-of-age story about what represents a generation. It’s about a bunch of regular teenage kids who live their lives against the backdrop of this horrendous national issue of gun violence. The film begins with this tragedy, and we follow what happens to Samantha Fuentes in her school, in her town, and the group of kids who set out to do something about it. For these kids, whose friends and classmates died, the tragedy was a catalyst. The story is born out of trauma and rage, which simmers throughout, and it serves as a window into this generation and movement that is so different than — yet also has so much in common with, the Vietnam era and the Civil Rights movement. These kids have to grow up so quickly and their willingness to give up everything to fight for those who were lost makes them able to build a remarkable and unprecedented movement that I believe is real and lasting. – Kim A. Snyder, director of Us Kids
“For its merits as a dynamic nonfiction piece incisively dealing with a pivotal issue from heartbreakingly human angle, Us Kids is indispensable viewing for anyone who genuinely cares about the future of this country beyond ‘thoughts and prayers.'” – Los Angeles Times
“Us Kids skillfully handles a sensitive subject and prudently connects the Parkland students’ stories to those of Black students whose experiences with gun violence rarely garner similar national attention. The film generally strikes an optimistic tone — highlighting the resilience of these young activists and the community they created. But no amount of editing or overlaid emotional ballads can shake the unsettling fact that these teenagers, whose lives were disturbed by unthinkable acts of violence, feel abandoned by the systems meant to protect them.” – The New York Times
