Shine Global presents a selection of award-winning short films highlighting children's resilience. <ul><li>Stalin Boys, directed by Bianca Giaever and Ora DeKornfeld — Children’s Resilience Short Documentary Award, Sheffield DocFest</li><li>The Boys and the Bees, directed by Arielle Knight and produced by Sean Weiner — Shine Global Resilience Awards</li><li>JASON, directed by Gabriella Canal — Children’s Resilience Short Film Prize, Indy Shorts Film Festival</li><li>Sūnna (Listen), directed by Radha Mehta — Disability Stories Award, ReelAbilities Film Festival</li></ul> Watch the films on your own time, then join us for the live virtual Q&amp;A with the filmmakers on Tuesday, November 3rd at 5pmPT/8pmET

When Jason’s mother was deported in June of 2025, on the day of Jason’s kindergarten graduation, Jason’s family felt helpless. From one day to the next, she was unexpectedly detained and before they knew it, the family received a call that she was gone. It was a shock to the entire family, and Jason hasn’t been the same since. His grandmother describes him as volatile, but mostly distracted, coping with the loss of his mother through his digital tablet and the virtual world. The film follows him in his days after the loss, quietly coping with it while her absence is felt.

JASON

A young boy in Miami carries on with his days while the voice of his mother, recently deported, travels through the phone to try to reach him. JASON is about what happens after deportation, the felt absence, the connection that struggles to survive it and the power of a mother’s love.

Four Mexican-American middle school boys in a Texas border town have developed an unusual obsession: Joseph Stalin. When their teacher tells them about the Texas State History Fair, they write a play about the Soviet dictator - and his efforts to destroy all who opposed him. With cardboard props and fur hats purchased on the internet, the boys enter the competition as underdogs and leave home for the very first time.

Stalin Boys

In small-town Texas, four middle school boys develop an unusual obsession: Joseph Stalin. When their teacher encourages them to write a play about Stalin — and perform it in a state competition — the boys are forced to wrestle with power, control, and inequality.

When Lakshmi, a gifted young Indian singer, begins to lose her hearing, she keeps it from her mother, Savita, as they prepare for a sacred temple performance that binds their family and faith. But when a moment of danger shatters the illusion, the truth can no longer be contained.
In the quiet that follows, mother and daughter must confront not only loss, but the fear of who Lakshmi might become without sound.
Through touch, vibration, breath, and memory, Lakshmi discovers a new way of listening — one that lives in the body rather than the ear. What begins as silence becomes transformation. What feels like an ending becomes another kind of song.

SŪNNA (Listen)

When sudden hearing loss shatters her identity, a young Indian musician is left in silence until the echoes of memory, touch, and culture help her reclaim music and herself.

The Boys and the Bees follows a year in the life of a Black family on a small farm in rural Georgia. Through a patient, verité lens, the film moves at the pace of two young boys, alive with curiosity, as they wander fields, tend hives, and grow in their relationship with the land around them. Their parents, Eliza and Nehemiah Ray—partners in life, parenthood, and beekeeping—set out to reimagine Black family life, rooting it in the wisdom of the natural world. As they work toward restoring their homestead, the film traces their quiet efforts to raise their sons, Carver (6) and Aaro (4), close to the land, transforming the rhythms of daily life into a tender meditation on childhood, inheritance, and legacy.
From small, luminous moments—a frightened boy finding the courage to tend a beehive—a larger story unfolds: one of reparative healing and the deliberate work of building a family bound to the land. The Boys and the Bees is a tender yet radical portrait of self-determination, kinship, and love.

The Boys and the Bees

On an idyllic farm in rural Georgia, beekeeping parents tenderly share their knowledge of life, love, and nature with their young sons while restoring their homestead.

Live Filmmaker Q&A

Short Films about Children's Resilience

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Watch select 2026 Shine Global Resilience Award winners and finalists from anywhere in the United States then join our live filmmaker Q&As

This annual event recognizes and celebrates the films and filmmakers that highlight the resilience and strength of children in the face of adversity. The awards are open to films of any genre that showcase children overcoming challenges and demonstrate their resilience, courage, and determination.

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