The world premiere of the second edition of Youth Producing Change, an innovative program of youth-produced short films from across the globe, will be presented on June 19-20, 2009, by the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival (June 11-25), in collaboration with the founding presenter, Adobe Youth Voices. Ten films will be shown this year, selected from over 300 international submissions

Armed with digital cameras and their own boundless creativity, the first-time filmmakers featured in the series bravely expose some of the most pressing human rights challenges of our day, tackling such issues as child labor, immigration, access to clean water, sexual violence, police harassment, HIV/AIDS in Mozambique, and teen homelessness in New York City. All of the films were produced by filmmakers who were under the age of 19 at the time of production.

The Youth Producing Change program will be shown at the The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater on Friday, June 19 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, June 20 at 2 p.m. Many of the young filmmakers – from Brooklyn, to Seattle, to Mozambique – will make the trip to the festival to present their films to local audiences, advocating for their issues and sharing their production experiences.

The festival will hold a youth news conference for the young filmmakers from 4 to 7 p.m. on June 19 in the Furman Gallery of the Walter Reade Theater. The Youth Producing Change filmmakers visiting the festival will participate in this youth-centered news conference to share their production experiences with local youth filmmakers. Registration for this exclusive event is free, and is open to members of the press and youth-based organizations.

Tickets: Single-screening tickets for the 2009 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival are $11 for adults, $7 for Film Society members and students with a valid photo ID, and $8 for seniors. They are available at both the Walter Reade Theater box office and online at www.filmlinc.com. HRWIFF Series Pass ($40 public/$30 Film Society member) admits one person to five titles in the festival. It is available only at the Walter Reade Theater box office.

Additional information is available online at http://www.hrw.org/iff/ or by calling (212) 875-5600.