STUDENTCAM – 22nd Annual Student Documentary Competition

Image Preloading

2027 THEME: “Mr. Speaker, I Rise To…”

Envision yourself as a newly-elected member of Congress and detail what issue you would address in your first floor speech.

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 midterm election year with control of Congress hanging in the balance, we are asking students in grades 6-12 to create a short (5:00-6:00 minute) video documentary that relates to the competition theme:

“Mr. Speaker, I Rise To…”
This year we are asking students to put themselves in the shoes of a newly-elected member of Congress and detail what issue they would address in their first speech before the legislature, explain why they chose their stated issue, consider various points of view on their topic, and describe potential solutions.

Competition Requirements

The submission deadline for all entries in our 2027 competition is Wednesday, January 20, 2027.

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.

StudentCam 2026 Prize-Winners

As the United States commemorated its historic 250th anniversary this past July, C-SPAN proudly announced the winners of the 2026 StudentCam documentary competition.

Through thoughtful research, storytelling, and original filmmaking, students engaged directly with the ideals of equality, rights, liberty, and self-governance — demonstrating how the Declaration of Independence continues to shape both historic milestones and present-day debates.

All 150 prize-winning videos in last year’s competition can be viewed using the link below: