The 2025 National History Day (NHD) finals winners once again took the spotlight as they showcased their project at the 2026 Hindsight Film Festival in Savannah, Georgia. The Daegu International School (DIS) student-produced film was shown at the Otis S. Johnson Cultural Arts Center from March 4 to 8. The Hindsight Film Festival featured top historical documentaries that told stories from the past with a unique perspective.

The event marked the first major U.S. film festival dedicated solely to historical documentaries, gathering over 1,000 attendees, including filmmakers, judges and industry professionals. The five-day festival featured screenings, educational outreach, panels and a judged competition, fostering connections among an array of people.

2024 NHD finalists and 2025 NHD winners for the Senior Group Documentary category, juniors Sophie Lee, Bryan Lee and Haydn Mangione (Greenbrier’ 27) produced the documentary The Right to Write: Korean Language Societies Fight for their Mother Tongue featuring language preservation by the Korean Language Society during the ruling of Korea by the Japanese empire.

The acclaim at NHD earned his group selection into the Better Angels Society’s Next Generation Better Angels program. “The Right to Write came to my attention through our Next Generation Angels Awards. The winners [of NHD] had the chance to receive one-on-one mentorship from awardees from our prestigious Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film,” the Director of Programs at The Better Angels Society Devinne Melecki said.

This year, student filmmakers like the DIS cohort carved an increasing share of the festival’s lineup. “Out of our 34 short films, 11 were made by students from middle school through college. We want to encourage these students to make more films, and we see it as an investment in our own future because we hope that some day they’ll revisit the festival as professional filmmakers,” documentary filmmaker and organizer of the Hindsight Film Festival Pat Longstreth said.

Still, the nomination garnered a pleasant surprise coupled with their NHD victory. “We didn’t really receive any email beforehand on whether our film was submitted or not. So, we didn’t know if we were even participating in this festival. But once our film got nominated and we were contacted back from the officials, I was just really grateful that we as high schoolers were able to take part in such a big competition,” Sophie Lee said.

Mangione attributed their recognition to their unique topic selection. “Our documentary is special because it’s about linguistic rebellion. While many have heard of the great rebels like Toussaint L’Ouverture, almost nobody knows about this story and I think it’s fascinating to learn that a group used linguistic heritage as a form of civil disobedience to the Japanese Empire,” Mangione said.

Mangione, currently based in Georgia, attended the festival, where he presented the documentary and engaged directly with professional filmmakers. He engaged with documentarians and prominent political activists, including Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, and he later took the stage for a 20-minute Q&A session discussing the story of the Korean Language Society.

“It felt good to see everyone enjoying the film, but what felt even more special was the effect it had on others. So many people came up to me after the screening to tell me how good the film was and how much they learned from it. I had felt it in my own small way. I had somewhat contributed to the mission of the Korean Language Society of preserving the story of the Korean language by bringing their story overseas,” Mangione said.

Professional filmmakers also resonated with this sentiment. “Just the fact that the Korean language was almost lost was a big surprise to me and seemed like something more people should know about. So the topic itself was the first thing that caught my attention. For a student film, it’s very well done and I was happy to program it alongside other professional shorts. The narration and the opening statement are very strong with The Right to Write,” Longstreth said.

The 2025 NHD winners raised the bar once again with the global debut for their documentary at the Hindsight Film Festival. They plan to continue sharing compelling stories through film. “Our hope is that participation in these kinds of events helps to inspire young filmmakers to keep exploring their local, regional, and national history through documentary film and build skills in civic engagement and civil discourse while doing so,” Melecki said.

This story was originally published on Jets Flyover on May 7, 2026.