STUDENTCAM – 22nd Annual Student Documentary Competition

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THEME: America’s 250th Anniversary

Exploring the American Story through the Declaration of Independence.

What is StudentCam?

StudentCam is C-SPAN’s annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think critically about issues that affect our communities and our nation.

In this coming bisesquicentennial year celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we are asking students in grades 6-12 to create a short (5:00-6:00 minute) video documentary on either a historical or contemporary topic that relates to the competition theme,

“America’s 250th Anniversary”
Exploring the American Story through the Declaration of Independence
Students are asked to create a 5- to 6-minute documentary that explores the enduring impact
of the Declaration of Independence by examining:
(1) its influence on a key moment from America’s 250-year history
– or –
(2) how the values stated in the foundational document touch on a contemporary issue impacting you or your community.

Competition Requirements

The submission deadline for all entries is Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

Click here for a printable Student Checklist. (Google Doc)
For the complete list of competition rules and requirements, click here.

All Grades from 6-12

This annual competition is open to all students in grades 6-12. Grades 6-8 compete in the Middle School category, and grades 9-12 compete in the High School category.

For more information about the prize divisions, visit our Prizes page.

compete individually/teams

Students may compete individually, or in teams of either 2 or 3 members.

Should your documentary win a prize, the awarded dollar amount will be split evenly among the students responsible for the production of the documentary.

CLIPS oF C-SPAN FOOTAGE

Documentaries must include clips of C-SPAN video that relate to the chosen topic.

Consider using short video clips that provide historical background, additional context, or supporting and opposing ideas related to your topic.

viewpoints

Winning StudentCam documentaries will thoroughly explore a variety of viewpoints related to the chosen topic, including those that may oppose the filmmakers points of view.

You are welcome to share your personal point of view but you should also spend time exploring opposing points of view at some point during your documentary. We also highly recommend that you interview topical experts about their thoughts on your chosen subject.

DOCUMENTARY Length

Your documentary must be between 5:00-6:00 minutes in length.

Documentaries shorter than 5:00 minutes, or longer than 6:00 minutes, will be disqualified.

*End credits (if applicable) must begin after the 5:00 minute mark but are permitted to run longer than the allotted 6:00 minute maximum time frame of your actual documentary.

CITATIONS

Entries must include either end credits or a works cited list.

You may use whichever format you currently use at your school to cite sources, but information used in your research, along with any background music or video (other than C-SPAN footage), must be cited appropriately and clearly, with links to that referenced work.

View the StudentCam 2025 Prize-Winners

View the 150 prize-winning documentaries from our StudentCam 2025 competition. The 2025 competition asked students to explore and analyze matters of personal, local or national importance by addressing the theme — “Your Message to the President: What issue is most important to you or your community?”

C-SPAN StudentCam 2025 Prize Winners

Click the link above to view the complete list of 150 prize-winning documentaries, as well as the winners of the 2025 “Fan Favorite” award and our “Behind the Scenes” photo competition.