The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation wanted to bring youth voices to TED 2015, to speak on this year’s theme: “Truth or Dare.” Since we’ve taught film, ourselves, throughout our careers, we already knew dozens of youth media organizations around the country. Partnering with nonprofits in New York City, Baltimore and the Bay Area, we worked with young people, ages 16 – 21, on first-person narratives, supporting them through the filmmaking process. The films were promoted in the TED blog “Further Reading on Ideas Worth Spreading.”
Julia Retzlaff, 18, makes short films with the Bay Area Video Coalition’s “The Factory” film program. She was a ninth-grader when she first witnessed a sexual assault—her friend roughly grabbed by a stranger on a San Francisco bus. Street harassment is embedded in a culture of violence. “With limited access to proper health care,” Retzlaff points out, “the anxiety and stress become lifelong afflictions.”