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Ben Feinstein '15 - "Boys State" - A Sundance Winning Documentary

Ben Feinstein '15 - "Boys State" - A Sundance Winning Documentary

Ben Feinstein '15, is among four students featured in the 2018 documentary "Boys State" which examines the state of American democracy through a political coming of age story. It showcases an experiment where a thousand 17-year-old boys from the state of Texas gathered together to build a representative government from the ground up. The film follows Ben Feinstein and three other boys, all from diverse backgrounds and political views, as they go through the challenges of organizing political parties, shaping consensus, and campaigning for governor. The film won Sundance's Grand Jury Prize for best documentary.  

The film won Sundance's Grand Jury Prize for best documentary and is also screening at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. Ben notes in his experience that "for every one political maneuver that probably wasn’t up to the standard of what America should be, there were ten examples of guys ignoring race or ignoring political views. Guys came together and worked towards a mission, and I thought that was really inspiring.” 

Source: “The Documentary 'Boys State' Delivers a Dose of Political Hope to Our Divisive Age.” Jason Cohen, Texas Monthly, 5 Feb. 2020,  www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/boys-state-documentary-sundance-film-festival-sxsw/.

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