The Kids Are Not Alright is an intimate portrait of trauma following three families’ journeys as they work to shed light on the devastating impacts of the Troubled Teen Industry, pursue healing in the absence of justice, and fight to hold abusers accountable.
SYNOPSIS
What does it mean to be a survivor? Generations of children have been left with this question in the wake of abuse suffered at the hands of the Troubled Teen Industry, an unregulated network of for-profit institutions claiming to fix wayward teenagers. Decades later, they are fighting back. Filmed over the course of nine years, The Kids Are Not Alright is an intimate portrait of trauma following three families’ journeys as they work to shed light on the devastating impacts of institutional abuse, pursue healing in the absence of justice, and fight to hold abusers accountable.
Director Statement
My passion for creating documentary films is rooted in the belief that deeply personal character stories possess a unique ability to impact and engage audiences in a manner unlike any other form of storytelling. Documentaries bear a distinct gift and responsibility in the narratives they convey, and my unwavering commitment as a director is to maintain an intimate and personal approach throughout the filmmaking process. With The Kids Are Not Alright, my aspiration is to enlighten and engage our audience, fostering meaningful change within a problematic industry while amplifying the powerful voices and narratives of survivors. The Kids Are Not Alright presents a critical examination of privately-run tough love programs for troubled teens, a multi-billion dollar industry that has operated in the shadows for decades. The absence of government oversight within these programs has resulted in widespread accounts of physical and psychological abuse, often culminating in survivors experiencing PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Growing up, I encountered numerous peers sent to these programs, and tragically, one individual from my high school died egregiously while enrolled in a wilderness program in the 1990s. Over the past nine years of crafting this film, I have been exposed to harrowing tales of abuse, fraud, deception, and greed. Yet, amidst these grim revelations, I am continually inspired by the tenacity and resilience of the survivor community. It is high time for these survivors to raise their voices and be heard.
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Mikaela Shwer
Mikaela is a documentary filmmaker and editor based in Los Angeles. As a director and producer, her debut feature documentary about undocumented activist Angy Rivera, Don’t Tell Anyone/No Le Digas a Nadie, broadcast on PBS/POV in the fall of 2015 and was honored with the George Foster Peabody Award. Her work has been supported by Sundance, Film Independent, ITVS, Women in Film, Doc NYC, IFP/Gotham, The Fledgling Fund, The Logan Nonfiction Program, and Women Make Movies. She is an Associate of the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley and a fellow of the Logan Nonfiction Program and the Film Independent Documentary Lab. Mikaela’s editing career spans 15 years of working in post-production, working with Blowback Productions, Steeplechase Films, and Story Syndicate in New York, and Jane Doe Films and Tremolo Productions in Los Angeles. She worked as an Editor, Writer, and Co-Producer on the four-part documentary series Allen v. Farrow (HBO) for which Mikaela was honored with 2 Emmy nominations along with nominations for an ACE Eddie award and Cinema Eye Honors for her work on the series. In 2022, she edited for the Netflix documentary series, Harry & Meghan. She edited on the documentary series Last Call for HBO and Story Syndicate. She is currently directing her second feature documentary, a film about the Troubled Teen Industry.
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Women Make Movies (WMM), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts organization registered with the New York Charities Bureau of New York State and accepts charitable donations on behalf of this project. Your donation will be spent by the filmmaker(s) toward the production and completion of this media project. No services or goods are provided by Women Make Movies, the filmmaker(s) or anyone else associated with this project in exchange for your charitable donation.
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