2026 2nd Prize Middle School Division – “Behind Barbed Wire” by Addison Powell, Ryan Anderson, & Mnium Clark-Jijon

7th grade students Addison Powell, Ryan Anderson, & Mnium Clark-Jijon from Community Montessori in Escondido, California won 2nd Prize in the Middle School division for their documentary, “Behind Barbed Wire,” about Japanese internment during World War II and the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and happiness. As 2nd Prize winners, the trio will split $1,500 in prize money.

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. 2026 marked the 22nd year of the competition and in this semiquincentennial year celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we asked students in grades 6-12 to create a short (5:00-6:00 minute) video documentary on either a historical or contemporary topic that related to the competition theme, “America’s 250th Anniversary”
Exploring the American Story through the Declaration of Independence.

C-SPAN is funded by America’s cable, satellite television and streaming companies, who also support StudentCam. In Escondido, C-SPAN is available locally through Cox Communications.

Press:

• Press Release: San Diego and Escondido Students Win Prizes in C-SPAN’s National Video Documentary Competition (Google Doc)
  
  
• Article: San Diego area students win national documentary competition (The San Diego Union Tribune)