HOPE

HOPE (PRE-PRODUCTION)

Feature-length narrative film, focusing on the challenges of young people; currently in pre-production.Young people have entered school and launched a career amid a pandemic and turbulent economy, and are now grappling with an epidemic of loneliness across generations, world disasters, misinformation exacerbated by social media and a lack of connection in the workplace. According to the National Institute on Mental Illness (NAMI), The CDC, Washington Post, and CNBC:

• Youth suicide rates rose 62% from 2007-2021

• 59% of U.S. teens experienced cyberbullying or online harassment

• 44% of high school students reported feeling signs of depression within the last year 1

• 36% of young adults—ages 18-25—report anxiety while 29% felt depression 4

• 55% experienced some emotional abuse in the home

• 11% experience physical abuse 1

• 58% of youth with major depression did not receive any mental health treatment

• 64% of teens reported feeling the world is more stressful now than when parents were their age 3

• 25% of teens have been diagnosed with a mental health condition

HOPE LISTENING TOUR

This story is for young people–so it needs to be informed by their views, insights and experiences!

We have already begun engaging them around the country seeking out an array of voices and asking difficult questions. What are the things not being told to adults? What are the things that young people are afraid to voice? What actors do they want to see? What music do they want to hear? What are their fears and hopes?

On this tour, we’re sitting with students in schools as well as their teachers, parents and counselors. We’re also sitting with therapists, psychiatrists and nonprofits leaders who specialize in serving this community.

From Universities like Georgetown and Harvard to UCLA, SMU, and High Schools like Loyola and Immaculate Heart to professionals like pediatricians, educators, and judges–we are on a mission to understand the issues our youth face. Our research team will compile this data into themes that will inform every step of the creative process.