2010 DocuWeeks alum Louder Than A Bomb won the HUMANITAS award in the documentary category on Friday, September 23. Started in 1974, The HUMANITAS Prize celebrates “television programs that affirm the dignity of the human person, explore the meaning of life, enlighten the use of human freedom, and reveal to each person our common humanity.”
Louder Than A Bomb is the story of four Chicago-based high school poetry teams who are preparing for the world’s largest slam poetry contest for youth. Exploring the ways writing shapes their world, and vice versa, this film is both hopeful and heartbreaking. While the subjects these kids tackle are often deeply personal, what they put into their poems—and what they get out of them—is universal.
IDA spoke with filmmaker Greg Jacobs, and he had this to say about winning the HUMANITAS Prize:
To join the conversation and find out about screenings of the film in your area, head over to their Facebook Page or follow them on Twitter.
Learn more about the HUMANITAS Prize and the winners.
Louder Than A Bomb is the story of four Chicago-based high school poetry teams who are preparing for the world’s largest slam poetry contest for youth. Exploring the ways writing shapes their world, and vice versa, this film is both hopeful and heartbreaking. While the subjects these kids tackle are often deeply personal, what they put into their poems—and what they get out of them—is universal.
IDA spoke with filmmaker Greg Jacobs, and he had this to say about winning the HUMANITAS Prize:
Winning the documentary Humanitas Prize for Louder Than A Bomb is a tremendous honor. It's also a validation that we may just have succeeded at doing what we set out to do from the start: make a film that's both entertaining and uplifting, without sacrificing one for the other.Louder Than A Bomb will be airing on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in January 2012.
That also happens to be exactly what the kids we followed strive to do—tell their stories as precisely, as honestly, and as entertainingly as possible, while still making a powerful connection with the audience. The last thing we wanted was to tell a crappy story about kids who are amazing storytellers. So we are profoundly grateful to Nate, Nova, Adam, and The Steinmenauts for inspiring us to tell our story in a way that did justice to theirs.
To join the conversation and find out about screenings of the film in your area, head over to their Facebook Page or follow them on Twitter.
Learn more about the HUMANITAS Prize and the winners.