Critical What?! Documentary

In a world where youth feel powerless against injustice, nine youth embark on a transformative journey to become the changemakers for a more just society.

Synopsis

"Critical What?!" is a fun, bold, and uplifting seventy-minute documentary that follows nine incredible ten to fifteen year olds as they take back their power and voice in a world that often feels hopeless. At the heart of their adventure is the heated national debate over whether young people should learn about injustice, ignited by a local conservative’s attack on “Critical Race Theory.” This sparks laws in eighteen states banning such discussions in schools, all while claiming to "protect" students from tough topics.

But these young filmmakers overcome the obstacles of a divided political climate and their own insecurities and doubts. They dive headfirst into big issues like homelessness, tech inequality, gender bias, and book banning. Sure they make mistakes, but their hard work leads to a standing ovation at their documentary screening. In the end, these inspiring youth prove they’re not just ready to face the world—they’re ready to change it!

About

Critical What?! Youth Documentaries

Nine youth produced five short documentaries. Their process and highlights of their documentaries will be shown in the full length documentary.

Their documentaries were about homelessness, education, the metaverse, a women's role in society and the banning of books.

Trailer for Youth Documentaries

Critical Thinking

Washington State youth volunteers, ages 10 to 15, learned and practiced critical thinking.

Media Literacy

Youth engaged with peer mentors and experts to learn media literacy skills.

Questions?

What is Critical What?!

Critical What? follows the journey of a group of young people ages 10-15 as they became changemakers with the tools of media literacy and critical thinking.

What unfairness did the youth research?

The youth explored, researched, and with a camera in their hands, documented their experiences with equity and inequity in their chosen areas: homelessness, education, the metaverse, a women's role in society and the banning of books.

How did they learn critical and creative thinking?

The youth increased critical and creative thinking skills through workshops on storytelling, research and interviewing and the essentials of documentary filmmaking.

Isn't this a national issue?

Though Critical What? is a locally based documentary, it examines the national controversy that grew from the banning of books, restrictions on language and areas in history that speak to practices of inequity as well as equity labeled by some as Critical Race Theory.

Where can we see the youth documentaries?

The youth documentaries were screened on Saturday, December 9th at 4PM at Northwest Film Forum. Each documentary is being submitted to film festivals. Local screenings have been requested and are in progress. We will post future screenings on this website. If you would like to be contacted about a future screening, please email us at criticalwhatdocumentary dot com.

Youth Documentaries Trailer

What's coming in 2025?

The youth process of becoming changemakers plus interviews with experts, scholars and key people will be edited into a 70 minute documentary.

A Coming of Age Documentary