We are thrilled to share the story of Ayla Harris a talented seventh grader from Juneau whose first short documentary film is screening this week at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Canada.

Ayla created a roughly five minute documentary about her great grandfather Tom Gillen Sr. blending family history with personal reflections on identity and heritage. With support from her teacher and classmates, Ayla taught herself many filmmaking skills throughout the process demonstrating remarkable dedication and creativity.

Out of all the students who submitted films from her school Ayla’s work was the only one selected to screen at this prestigious festival a renowned event known for showcasing inspiring stories from around the world.

Ayla’s journey highlights the power of youth storytelling and the importance of supporting young voices in film. Ayla’s film will also be screened during the Milk Run Music Festival in Wrangell in May 2026. We celebrate her accomplishment and all of our youth filmmakers that submitted films at the Banff Film Festival!

Read the full story in the Juneau Independent or click the still below to read the full story!

Wrangell Sentinel: Middle Schooler’s Debut Film Earns invitation to Banff Film Festival

See Stories recently held a fundraising drive for all our students that were accepted to the Banff Film Festival. Four amazing youth filmmakers from our programs, Malena, 13, Angel 16, Kainoa, 15, and Ayla, 13, were invited to share their stories at the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival this week. Thank you to all of you that helped them get there! We’ll hear more about their experience at BANFF soon, so stay tuned!