Due to safety concerns surrounding COVID-91, The Screen and CCA theaters are temporarily closed and Youth Partners Program (YPP) visits have been suspended.

However, YPP continues to offer the virtual experience for FREE. Below you will find information for each film in our YPP archive. If you are interested in an educational viewing with an accompanying YPP lesson plan, please contact us for more information.

Thank you for all you’re doing to keep our children and families safe!


Since the conception of CCA’s Youth Partners Program in 2012, our staff of artists and educators have presented films that inspire students to pursue careers in STEAM-based subjects and introduce students to real-life cultural heroes. CCA’s Youth Partners strives to collaborate with educators in weaving our films into existing curriculum to improve classroom outcomes and offer meaningful educational experiences.

For each title in our archive, we’ve designed materials that allow the power of film to build connections between students’ self-identity and community.

History and Overview

The Center for Contemporary Arts created the Youth Partners Program in 2012 in order to share stories of real-life heroes with Santa Fe’s youth. The program provides opportunities for middle and high school students to engage in critical thinking practices, engage in discussion on current affairs, and encounter stories of success and perseverance.

The Youth Partners Program brings teenage students from Santa Fe’s schools and youth organizations into the Cinematheque for film screenings and presentations and sends CCA staff and guest educators with films and curriculum into local public schools. The CCA staff curates films that can benefit students, creates a curriculum around each film, and invites educators to weave these programs into their existing lessons.

This successful program seeks to improve educational outcomes and increase interest among students in pursuing careers in STEAM-based (science-technology-engineering-arts-math) subjects as well as exposing students to inspiring cultural stories.

Testimonials 

“I think this is a really cool program and gave me a lot of thought-provoking ideas.”

“I really enjoyed watching and getting further in depth…”

“I discovered that I was really interested in the topic.”

“Would love to come back.”

-Students

“Capital High School thrives on opportunities for our students to participate in learning experiences in the larger Santa Fe community. Our teachers and students learn from, and enjoy participating in the exciting films…”

“It was a wonderful experience, and CCA YPP made it so easy for teachers to organize. Will definitely be looking into bringing students again. Thank you!”

“CCA is leading the minds of hundreds of young people to pay attention to potential careers, instructing them on how to read about science in the news, and connecting the creativity of art to genuine social and scientific change.”

-Teachers

Celebrating 100 Years of the Women’s Vote

Celebrating 100 Years of the Women’s Vote

Download this thorough, step-by-step curriculum guide centered around our October 9th webinar event, Votes for Women: The 100th Anniversary, which featured Paul Barnes and Ali MacGraw. The presentation centered around the Ken Burns docu-series Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. The guide includes timecodes and walkthrough discussion points for each clip. Check it out today!

YPP Film Archive

Sciences

SCIENCE FAIR

Perfect for students studying science. Recommended for grades 7th-10th. FILM: 2018; 90 minutes; Documentary; English, Portuguese & German w/ English subtitles Nine students from around the globe compete in an international science fair. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum focuses on the importance of empathy for different cultures and inspires students to pursue their goals, in the sciences or otherwise.

PARTICLE FEVER

Perfect for anyone studying physics. Recommended for grades 9th – 12th. FILM: 99 Minutes; 2013; English As they seek to unravel the mysteries of the universe, 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries joined forces in pursuit of a single goal: to recreate conditions that existed just moments after the Big Bang and find the Higgs boson, potentially explaining the origin of all matter. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum encourages students to redefine their conception of who a scientist is and consider the historical, social, cultural, and ethical aspects of science and its applications.

INVENTING TOMORROW

Perfect for anyone studying science and relatable for students of all ages and backgrounds. Recommended for grades 7th – 12th. FILM: 87 Minutes; 2018; English w/ various subtitles Meet passionate teenage innovators from around the globe who are creating cutting-edge solutions to confront the world’s environmental threats – found right in their own backyards – while navigating the doubts and insecurities that mark adolescence. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum focuses on creative solutions to our own community’s concerns over resources.

RACING EXTINCTION

Perfect for anyone studying environmental science. Recommended for grades 7th – 10th. FILM: 2015; 90 Minutes; English Two worlds drive extinction across the globe, potentially resulting in the loss of half of all species. T Racing Extinction team exposes these two worlds in an inspiring affirmation to preserve life as we know it. CCA’s Youth Partners help students investigate the relationship between extinctions and human activities, including food production.

FANTASTIC FUNGI

Perfect for anyone studying biology, health, or environmentalism. Recommended for grades 10th-12th FILM: 2019; 81 minutes; Documentary; English Fantastic Fungi, directed by Louie Schwartzberg, is a consciousness-shifting film that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum asks students to imagine how our species might mimic fungi’s desirable characteristics; reducing, reusing, repairing, recycling and communicating.

Social Studies

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO

Perfect for anyone studying civil rights, history, or English. Recommended for grades 11th – 12th. FILM: 93 minutes; 2018; English I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. CCA’s Youth Partner’s curriculum encourages students to challenge the definition of America by assessing media, civil rights leaders and the arts. Perfect for anyone studying social studies or American History.

RBG

Perfect for anyone studying government, social studies or women’s studies. Recommended for grades 9th-12th FILM: 2018; 97 minutes; Documentary; English At the age of 85, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a lengthy legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But the unique personal journey of her rise to the nation’s highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans – until now. RBG explores Ginsburg’s life and career. From Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films.

STREET FIGHT

Perfect for students studying history, civics, or political science. Recommended for grades 11th-12th. FILM: 2005; 83 minutes; Documentary; English An Oscar-nominated documentary about a grassroots campaign in the mayoral race in Newark, following a young Cory Booker. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum give’s students a window into the campaign and electoral process, and asks students to reflect on the impact, process and ethics of democracy.

STEP

A relatable story for students of all ages and backgrounds. Recommended for grades 7th-12th. FILM: 2017; 84 minutes; Documentary; English The senior year of a girls’ high school step team in inner-city Baltimore is documented, as they try to become the first in their families to attend college. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum encourages discussion on family backgrounds and how to overcome social biases.

MANDALA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

Perfect for anyone studying world history and social studies. Recommended for grades 10th-12th. FILM: 2013; 147 minutes; Historic Drama; English, Afrikaans | Xhosa w/ English subtitles Long Walk to Freedom is an adaptation of the personal story of one of the world’s most revered leaders, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum explores the history behind Apartheid in Africa and compares these to the Jim Crow laws in late 19th century United States, and provokes further discussion over social justice and non-violent protest.

DOLORES

Perfect for anyone studying American history. Recommended for grades 7th – 12th. FILM: 2017; 95 Minutes, English The incredible true story of one of America’s greatest civil rights heroes, Dolores Huerta, the co-founder of United Farm Workers. CCA’s Youth Partner’s curriculum encourages discussion on who writes our history and the players left out of important social movements, like Dolores. Students will learn Huerta’s role in the United Farm Workers, how her work progressed intersectionality and helped secure rights of Mexican-Americans across the US.

NO

Perfect for anyone studying political science, history or Spanish. Recommended for grades 11th – 12th. FILM: 2012; 118 Minutes, Rated R for some language; Spanish w/ English subtitles In 1988, Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet is forced to call a plebiscite on his presidency and the country will vote YES or NO to extend his rule. Opposition leaders for the NO persuade a brash young advertising executive, Rene Saavedra (Gael García Bernal), to spearhead their campaign and set Chile free. CCA’s Youth Partner’s curriculum takes a look at the power of marketing using Chile’s political shift into democracy as an example.

Arts and Anthropology

MUSIC OF STRANGERS

Perfect for anyone studying current events, world cultures or music. Recommended for grades 10th-12th. FILM: 2015; 96 minutes; Documentary; English with various subtitles An inspiring story about Yo Yo Ma’s international ensemble. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum emphasizes the essential role that art plays in the human experience and encourages students to reflect on the role that music has played in their own lives.

IF YOU BUILD IT

Perfect for anyone studying architecture, design or community building Recommended for grades 7th – 12th. FILM: 85 Minutes; 2013; English If You Build It follows designer-activists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller to rural Bertie County, the poorest in North Carolina, where they work with local high school students to help transform both their community and their lives. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum allows students to think critically and creatively about the spaces they use every day.

LANDFILL HARMONIC

Perfect for anyone studying global cultures or music. Recommended for grades 7th-10th. FILM: 2015; 84 Minutes, Spanish w/ English subtitles Landfill Harmonic follows the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a Paraguayan musical group that plays instruments made entirely out of garbage. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum focuses on the journey of an underprivileged community that creates art despite their circumstances and encourages discussion on the dangerous effects of global warming.

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS

Perfect for anyone studying art, archeology or social studies. Recommended for grades 7th – 12th. FILM: 85 Minutes; 2013; English and French with English dub In this documentary, filmmaker Werner Herzog and a small crew are given a rare chance to film inside France’s Chauvet Cave, where the walls are covered with the world’s oldest surviving paintings. CCA’s Youth Partners curriculum encourages discussion on humanity’s earliest values based on Chauvet Cave’s paintings.