MY HERO Film Festival Jury Lab

Welcome to the MY HERO Film Festival Jury Lab! During the sessions, students watch a curated selection of short films from the MY HERO International Film Festival, discuss what makes a story powerful, and create their own response.

Before you begin, make sure you have completed the MY HERO First Steps from the Learning Circles landing page. If you need any help at all completing those steps, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

iEARN participants: You can also post your introductions in the “Introductions” discussion board in the iEARN collaboration centre. 

Firstly, choose a practice film to watch and discuss together. 

For Pre-K students and up, we recommend You Are Not Small, a short animation about how change is possible when we come together. 

For students aged 13 and up, we recommend Locks, a short film directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Ryan Coogler. Back in 2008, the MY HERO International Film Festival was the first festival that Ryan Coogler entered. This year, Coogler’s latest film broke the record all-time nomination record at the 98^th Academy Awards.

Using the film discussion questions below, students discuss the strengths of the film you have chosen. This could be a classroom discussion, or students can answer the questions in a written response before sharing with the class.

Film Discussion Questions:

• How does this film relate to heroism?
• Who is the hero or heroic organization in this film?
• What is the issue raised in the film?
• Does this film motivate you to take action about an issue?
• Does the film elicit an emotional response?

iEARN participants: Students can post their thoughts on the “Locks” discussion board in the collaborate centre.

Students now watch the films from the 2025 People’s Choice Award and use the talking points and judging criteria to choose their favourite film.

There are three collections of films: K-3rd grade, 4th grade +, and the People's Choice Award collection recommended for students aged 13 and up. Educators can select to use whichever collection they feel is appropriate for their class.

Each student then fills out their own Student Jury Scorecard. 

iEARN participants: Students can post their scorecards in the “MY HERO International Film Festival Public Ballot” discussion board in the collaborate centre.

Using the Student Jury Scorecards, educators can now facilitate an in-class discussion to determine which film your class would like to vote for! Then, students can collaborate on one teacher-reviewed Jury Statement which will be submitted!

The statement should be between 150 and 200 words and answer the following questions:

1. Which film did the class select?
2. What evidence shaped the decision?
3. Where did students agree or disagree?
4. What did the class learn from hearing different views?

We have reached the end of the MY HERO Learning Circle Film Festival Jury Lab! A huge thank you to you all for partaking in the MY HERO Learning Circle. MY HERO loves students to be involved – it’s at the very core of what we do. In talking about these films, you’ve experienced a taste of what can be achieved when people share their hero stories with the world.

If your students would like to create their own hero projects, the MY HERO Learning Circles Celebrating Everyday Heroes pathway will take you through the steps, giving your students the opportunity to create a meaningful piece of work with the tools provided by MY HERO. Learn more here.

iEARN participants: I would like to invite everyone to post their final goodbyes to the iEARN forums, which will remain active for another week, as the MY HERO Learning Circle closes. Thank you all again, and we hope to see you in the next session!