Downtown Community Television Center, the pioneering New York City media arts center, announced that PBS and WNET have noticed.

"Our Cameras, Our Stories" will be broadcast every week on WNET 13, the nation's largest and most prestigious public television station. DCTV uses media to empower New Yorkers. The channel recently premiered short autobiographical documentaries by a group of talented high school film makers called "Our Cameras, Our Stories." The series of short documentary films made by young New Yorkers ran as six-week series.

The series helped young New Yorkers tell stories that ranged from teenage homelessness, to coping with a crippling illness, to the difficulty of living in two widely divergent cultures, to dealing with a parent's devastating mental illness. 

Downtown Community Television Center co-founder and Co-Executive Director Jon Alpert said "The most important aspect of this program is that it's 100% kid built. They shot the films, they edited the films and, of course, they lived their films."

"Far too often in our society, the young people are ignored," said Alpert. "Their voices are no less valid than those of the adults in our world. This program gives the youth of New York a voice and we see no reason why it can't serve as a pilot program for young people all over the world."

17 year-old filmmaker Derek Horton said "There is no minimum age requirement to become a filmmaker and putting cameras in the hands of young people can enlighten us to stories that adults are not telling...or cannot tell. There is nothing on TV that I want to see," says  a from East New York. "Nothing that represents my life, my world."

"We did the filming. We did the editing," says Barkley. "I was homeless for 3 years while I was in High School. No one can imagine what it was like. No one else can tell my story, adding, "I want people to know what many young New Yorkers go through. And I want to inspire those facing the same challenges." 

The show will reach over 20,000,000 viewers. This makes "Our Cameras, Our Stories" the most widely distributed series of youth made media in the country.
The series premieres on WNET 13 on October 4th at 1:30 pm followed by airdates all across the country.  A total of 21 films by 21 young New York City young filmmakers will be featured as part of the series.