AUDIENCE AWARD, BEST DOCUMENTARY - Dances with Films New York | BEST DIRECTOR - Atlanta Docufest
Juvenile Justice • Child Abuse • Institutional Abuse and Power • Conversion Therapy • Child Victims Act • Statute of Limitations • Sexual Assault & PTSD • Coercive Control • Survivor Activism
Date of Completion: 2025 | Run Time: 91 minutes | Language: English with English subtitles | Captions: Yes | Director, Producer & Editor: Mikaela Shwer | Producers: Alana Maiello, Robyn Kopp, Kimberly Stuckwisch & Kate Logan | Editors: Veronica Pinkham & Will Allegra-Garofalo
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.
The Hollywood Times | Reviewed by Valerie Milano
"[A] carefully constructed, emotionally resonant documentary that turns silence into testimony and trauma into resistance."
AWARDS
Best Director | Atlanta Documentary Film Festival
Best Documentary Feature, Honorable Mention | Charlotte Film Festival
Audience Choice Award, Best Documentary Feature | Dances with Film New York
Best Documentary Feature | Ojai Film Festival
Audience Award, Best Documentary Feature | Poppy Jasper International Film Festival
Best Women Directed Documentary Feature | Poppy Jasper International Film Festival
Nominee, Best Documentary Feature | Richmond International Film Festival
Nominee, Best Documentary Feature | Utah International Film Festival
Best Documentary Feature | Worldwide Women's Film Festival
Nominee, Best Documentary Feature | Wyoming International Film Festival
FESTIVALS
Arizona International Film Festival
Atlanta Documentary Film Festival
Charlotte Film Festival
Dances with Films LA
Dances with Film New York (World Premiere)
Garden State Film Festival
Milwaukee Film Festival
Ojai Film Festival
Poppy Jasper International Film Festival
Richmond International Film Festival
San Diego Film Festival
Utah International Film Festival
Worldwide Women's Film Festival
Wyoming International Film Festival
SCREENINGS
Fancy Film Screening
Phoenix Film Festival - Summer Series (Q&A with Director Mikaela Shwer, Liz Ianelli, Cynthia Clark Harvey)
Portland - Hollywood Theatre Screening
Survivors Unrestrained Virtual Screenings + Q&A
US Attorney's Office Northern District of New York as a part of National Crime Victims' Rights Week
View the full list of awards here: https://www.thekidsarenotalrightdoc.com/awards
Vies the full list of festivals & screenings here: https://www.thekidsarenotalrightdoc.com/festivals