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Us Kids

Synopsis

Determined to turn unfathomable tragedy into action, the teenage survivors of Parkland, Florida catalyze a powerful, unprecedented youth movement that spreads with lightening speed across the country, as a generation of mobilized youth take back democracy in this powerful coming-of-age story.
 

The Filmmakers

Kim A. Snyder Director

Kim A. Snyder directed the Peabody award-winning documentary NEWTOWN, which premiered in the US Competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.  Newtown screened at premiere festivals worldwide and was theatrically released followed by a national broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens and Netflix. Her most recent short, LESSONS FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING: NOTES FROM DUNBLANE, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was awarded Best Documentary Short followed by the DocDispatch Award at the 2018 Sheffield DocFest and a Grierson Award nomination. LESSONS FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING is a Netflix Original and is streaming in 196 countries. Snyder’s prior works include the feature documentary, WELCOME TO SHELBYVILLE, nationally broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens in 2011, and over a dozen short documentaries. Kim’s award-winning directorial debut feature documentary, I REMEMBER ME was theatrically distributed by Zeitgeist Films. In 1994, she associate-produced the Academy Award-winning short film TREVOR. Kim graduated with a Masters in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and resides in New York City.

Maria Cuomo Cole Producer

Maria Cuomo Cole is the Peabody Award-winning producer of the feature documentary, NEWTOWN, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. She then partnered with Kim Snyder on LESSONS FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING: NOTES FROM DUNBLANE. LESSONS premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was subsequently nominated for a Grierson award. In her career, she has tackled relevant subjects such as gun violence, homelessness, veterans’ PTSD, domestic violence and sexual assault. She executive produced THE HUNTING GROUND, directed by Kirby Dick. This Emmy and Peabody Award-winning film has been lauded as a powerful investigation into the epidemic of sexual assaults on college campuses. Ms. Cuomo Cole worked with the same film team, executive producing the 2014 Oscar®-nominated documentary, THE INVISIBLE WAR. This groundbreaking documentary explored the epidemic of rape and sexual violence in the U.S. military, which served as a catalyst for federal legislation and enacted federal policy reforms. 

Lori Cheatle Producer

Lori Cheatle is a producer of over 25 award-winning films and the founder of Hard Working Movies, a director-driven production company with an appetite for bold, high-profile narratives.  Titles include MATANGI/MAYA/M.I.A., about the musician M.I.A., directed by Steve Loveridge, which won a Special Jury award at Sundance 2018, the IDA Award for Best Music Documentary, and a Special Commendation at the Grierson Awards.  I AM ANOTHER YOU by Nanfu Wang, which won two jury awards at SXSW and is released by FilmRise and Independent Lens; KIKI  (IFC Films/Sundance Selects) by Sara Jordeno, about the underground Kiki ballroom community in New York City , which premiered at Sundance 2016 and won the Berlin Teddy Award, the Kathleen Edwards Bryan Human Rights Award, the Outfest Emerging Artist award as well as Independent Spirit Award and GLAAD award nominations; CAPTIVATED: THE TRIALS OF PAMELA SMART, directed by Jeremiah Zagar for HBO/Sky Atlantic; Amy Hardie’s critically acclaimed THE EDGE OF DREAMING and her BAFTA nominated SEVEN SONGS FOR A LONG LIFE; THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND, which was selected for the Whitney Biennial; three films by Doug Block, which all aired on HBO, including 112 WEDDINGS, THE KIDS GROW UP and 51 BIRCH STREET, which was named one of New York Times 10 Best Films of the Year. Most recently she Executive Produced HAIL, SATAN? (2019) released through Magnolia Pictures.  She received the 2019 Sundance I Amazon Producers Award.

Festivals & Awards

Sundance Film Festival

2020

After a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School claims 17 lives, a number of students rally themselves around the tragedy as an opportunity to speak out against the national gun-violence epidemic. As their adrenaline propels a dive into full-on activism, their movement catalyzes, and students impacted by gun violence nationwide join in, giving voice to a generation of traumatized but determined youth.

Director Kim A. Snyder (Newtown, 2016 Sundance Film Festival) returns to the Festival with a film that carefully chronicles 18 pivotal months in the development of the March For Our Lives movement through a deeply personal lens. With extended access to the young activists not only on stage but in their homes and among their friends, Us Kids allows us to see them through one another’s eyes—as “normal-ass kids” bravely dealing with the weight of their traumas. Snyder tells the touching coming-of-age story of this group of driven, resilient, empathetic individuals all navigating the personal consequences of their remarkable choice to dedicate their own lives to honor the fallen and take back democracy.

+ Festival Website