The documentary, “Run, Hide, Fight” by Sara Youssef (12) highlights the impact of gun violence on youths around the U.S. Showcasing different individual stories of victims and witnesses of gun violence, Youssef creates a space for others to share their experiences and hold space for those they’ve lost. .
With the help of PBS Student Reporting Labs, Youssef filmed and produced a documentary about an issue she feels strongly about — gun violence. The documentary was screened in the Westview theater, Oct. 24. The documentary aired internationally, Oct. 9 on the PBS YouTube channel, the PBS app, and PBS website, as well as on national television, Oct. 14, on the PBS World Channel.
While she was in Westview’s Broadcast Journalism class sophomore year, Youssef was selected to be a part of the training program. Her passion blossomed quickly; Youssef soon found and produced a story through the program with the help of PBS Student Reporting Labs.
“The first time I really connected with them, I did a story about culture and identity,” Youssef said. “We’re able to connect with them by just sending them your stories or pitching different ideas. I did a story about that prompt and sent it to them, and they loved it, and that’s how our bond started.”
PBS Reporting Labs accepted Youssef’s pitch for the gun violence documentary and they began to work on the documentary. The documentary took about eight months from start to finish. Youssef worked as the host along with others from schools all over the country such as Michigan State University, Arcadia University, Howard University, the DC International School, and the Oakland Military Institute.
Youssef had to research and reach out to people. During this part, she had to focus on strengthening her knowledge and understanding of the topic due to its sensitivity, as well as gather information from all over to find different perspectives.
“I had to really understand what I was talking about and get to the core of the issue,” Youssef said. “I found different organizations in the San Diego and L.A. area that were gun-violence prevention organizations. I called a lot of activists and the founders of these organizations and talked to them. I tried to find what caused them to go into this and what was being done locally in my area. Then we sent out a prompt for student journalists to answer across the United States and to try and find people who have lived through trauma and gun violence. They were our national correspondence for the documentary.”
Youssef was then asked to be the host of the documentary and be featured in the documentary two months into working and researching; in the past she had hosted stories, but never a documentary.
“I was involved in a lot of scripting, pre-production planning and there was a lot of on-site work that happened as well,” Youssef said. “There were two days where I filmed the host segments wearing the same outfit in the exact same position, because we wanted to make sure that it looks the same.”
Youssef said she was hoping to spread awareness about gun violence, wanting people to think about safety over politics..
“I hope people understand that this issue isn’t a partisan issue,” Youssef said. “It’s about the kids. Gun violence and control has become an issue of conservatives and Republicans versus Democrats and liberals, when really it shouldn’t be. It should be about the safety of Americans. I hope that people are able to get that from the documentary and so we can hope for a better future and hopefully end or at least lessen the amount of gun violence.”
According to Youssef, exposure to news and media is one of the most valuable aspects of the Broadcast Journalism class. Paying attention to current events not only in the U.S. but also the world has diversified her perspective on multiple issues. Gun violence as a topic stuck out to her amongst it all, however, as it deeply concerned all students, including her.
“It was really heartbreaking to see children my age or even younger go through this and have this fear,” Youssef said. “I knew that I really wanted to do something about it, and I have. I’ve been given a platform as a journalist to advocate for issues that I care about and I plan to use it.”
