Sofia Gevorgian and Anahit Malumyan’s documentary on the disputed Artsakh region was one of four first prize winners, out of 1200 entries. Two Canoga Park high school students won first prize in C-Span’s national 2021 StudentCam documentary competition, which also recognized several other students in the San Fernando Valley. The competition invited middle and high […]
Two Canoga Park high school students won first prize in C-Span’s national 2021 StudentCam documentary competition, which also recognized several other students in the San Fernando Valley. The competition invited middle and high school students to create short documentaries addressing the theme “Explore the issue you most want the president and new Congress to address in 2021.”
2,300 students across the country submitted more than 1,200 entries addressing hot-button issues like health care, the environment, civil rights, policing, and education. Gevorgian and Malumyan’s documentary was only one of four selected for first prize honors.
Sofia Gevorgian and Anahit Malumyan, students at the AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School, an Armenian-American private school in Canoga Park, won $3000 for “Dear Congress and Mr. President, Recognize Artsakh.” The students’ documentary advocates American recognition of the Artsakh region, which is officially recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is populated by mostly ethnic Armenians who want to secede from Azerbaijan. Large protests broke out all over Los Angeles and around the world in October when Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Russia escalated fighting over the region.
Gevorgian and Malumyan’s film will be broadcast on C-SPAN on April 18. You can also watch it by clicking the link here:
Meanwhile, Natalie Kim, Seung (Rachel) Lee and Raelle Macasaet of Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills won an honorable mention for their documentary “Sick Injustice: The Discrimination THat Plagues American Healthcare.”
Ella Warner, who attends Cleveland Humanities Magnet High School in Reseda, also received an honorable mention for her documentary on climate policy called “The River of Change: Fighting Corporate Dominance.”
