About the Latest Generation Film Contest

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The program first launched in 2024 with an inspiring message from award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns.

Lincoln Presidential Foundation developed the Latest Generation Film Contest to provide opportunities for mentorship in the work of history and visual storytelling to encourage the next generation of historical documentary filmmakers.

The program invites filmmakers ages 14–22 to create original 5–8-minute historical documentaries based on an annual theme and submit them to the contest. The Foundation provides participants with free access to virtual mentor sessions led by professional historians and filmmakers. Winners are selected from three age brackets and their winning films are screened at a red-carpet premiere in Chicago.

In addition to programming specifically for eligible participants, the Foundation also hosts free professional development workshops for educators interested in incorporating the program into their classroom.

The program's inaugural year was made possible by a generous grant from The Better Angels Society through the Amy Margerum Berg Education Fund to the Lincoln Presidential Foundation.

“Shall the liberties of this country be preserved to the latest generation?”

-Abraham Lincoln, 1861

Announcing the 2025 Winners of the Latest Generation Film Contest

We received hundreds of submissions from young filmmakers from across the Midwest and beyond in the inaugural year of the contest. A panel of experts reviewed submissions and selected top films for recognition. The red-carpet premiere will be held in Chicago on June 22, 2025.

📽️ To View the Premiere Livestream:  https://bit.ly/LatestGenerationPremiere
🎬 Winning films will be available here after the event. Stay tuned!


Meet This Year's Winners

Ages 20-22

1ST PLACE

The Garden of Eden Documentary

Ryan Schuckman

Hays, Kansas

2ND PLACE

Hip Hop is a Home

Jherrisha Barr

Chicago, Illinois

3RD PLACE

Grandpa Noel’s Gift

Riley Killian

Appleton, Wisconsin

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Excellence in Storytelling

The Barn is Burning

Carter J. Hellwarth

Celina, Ohio

Ages 17-19

1ST PLACE

Kansas City Jazz: A Frontier for Black Success

Mia Rasmussen

Lawrence, Kansas

2ND PLACE

Turning the Tide: Glen Lake Sanatorium's Crusade to Conquer Tuberculosis

Sasha Allen

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

3RD PLACE

Board by Board: How the Movement of One Church Constructed a Community’s History

Jennifer Omernik

Custer, Wisconsin

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Original Approach to History

Extra Ordinary Girls: Stories from the Underground Railroad

Mariam Umar, Illiana Ambriz, Karenna Zemek, Bailey Callahan, Dalaysia Dixon, Aniya Dixon, Garyel Welch

Moline, Illinois

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Depth of Research

What They Taught Us: How Grassroots Diplomacy Shaped the Cultivation of Milwaukee Neighborhoods

Krin Elizabeth Blegen

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Ages 14-16

1ST PLACE

The Life of Ike

Isaac Gorges

Wichita, Kansas

2ND PLACE

Buttons, Baby Teeth, and Bombs: The St. Louis Baby Tooth Project

Rohan Deshpande

Chesterfield, Missouri

3RD PLACE

On This Land: Dr. Norman Borlaug's Lasting Legacy

Jackson Ray Mehmen

Plainfield, Iowa

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Creativity in Storytelling

Rock Revolutionaries -
The Chicago Women's Liberation Rock Band

Deepti Koduru, Madeleine Kim, Noa Kim-Cohen, Selasi Affram

Chicago, Illinois

Beyond the Midwest

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Creativity in Storytelling

35,567 Yup'ik Stories

Magnus Shipe

Santa Fe, New Mexico