outstanding & tie
BEST ensemble AWARD
AMERICA
Director : Laura New
As an expectant mother, who had suffered loss, I began seeing the world through a new lens questioning whether my future child would even be safe in school. That same week, my cousin called in tears after her daughter’s active shooter drill; her little girl couldn’t find a hiding spot in her classroom and thought she was going to die. That moment broke something open in me and this film became my way of responding.
My hope is that AMERICA not only moves people, but sparks reflection and conversation. We cannot afford to look away any longer. Behind every headline is a mother, a child, a family, real lives with real stakes. The numbers and the facts surrounding these ongoing tragedies speak for themselves, our schools should no longer be cemeteries.
Days before a school tragedy strikes, a single mother's effort to relocate her family in search of a better future is unknowingly racing against time.
America follows Valerie, a single mother who refuses to break. Determined to give her children, Daniel and Georgia, a better life on the West Coast, she pushes forward against all odds. But on the eve of their move, tragedy strikes. A school shooting shatters their world, forcing Valerie to confront an unthinkable question: Are her children victims… or perpetrators?
Our short film is a raw and urgent exploration of resilience and sacrifice through the lens of a mother's fierce love. America lays bare the devastating impact of gun violence and its ripple effects on families and schools across America.
