2024
generation-covid

filmmaking team

Directed by Andrew James and Jennifer Sey
Cinematography by Andrew James and Tanner Shinnick
Edited by Andrew James, Aaron Allsop
Music by Mountain Cats

about
the film

An entire generation of children faces devastating learning loss, crushing mental health challenges, record-high absenteeism, poverty and lost opportunity because schools were forcibly closed during the pandemic. Long past the time when adults resumed their lives, children were onerously restricted, kept alone and isolated in spite of clear data showing covid posed little threat to the young and healthy.

GENERATION-COVID reveals the stark realities of post-covid America with a focus on the long term harms done to children due to ineffective and prolonged school closures, lockdowns and other restrictions that were needlessly imposed on their lives.

Despite clear and incontrovertible evidence of the harms done - especially to the poor and working class - malignant political forces seek to censor, silence and vilify anyone who questions the efficacy of these unprecedented and unscientific decisions. Our children are paying the price. We all are.

the trailer

the directors

Andrew James

Andrew James is the award-winning director of Street Fighting Men, Community Patrol and Cleanflix. His films have screened at festivals such as True/False, Big Sky, IFFBoston, Camden, Traverse City, Brooklyn, Freep, Sidewalk and Toronto. His work has appeared on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, Kanopy, Vimeo On Demand, OVID, The Atlantic, Aeon and No Budge. He is an alumni of the Sundance Institute Documentary Program, SFFILM and Film Independent. His freelance work includes Prophet's Prey, Believer, and the Emmy-nominated HBO documentary series Q: Into the Storm.
In addition to film production, Andrew enjoys working with young people. He has taught the Youth Fellowship for the Big Sky Film Institute, the Documentary Storytelling Class at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp and the Documentary Camera Class at Maine Media Workshops. He currently lives in Missoula, Montana where he serves on the the advisory board for the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.
Learn More About Andrew

Jennifer Sey

Jennifer Sey is an American author, filmmaker, business executive and retired artistic gymnast. She was the 1986 USA Gymnastics National Champion, and a 7-time member of the U.S. Women’s National Team. Sey’s first memoir, “Chalked Up" was released in 2008 and detailed the coaching cruelty inflicted on children in the sport of gymnastics. She went on to concept and produce the documentary film, "Athlete A,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won an Emmy in 2020 for Best Investigative Documentary.
Sey began working at Levi Strauss & Co. in 1999, rising to Chief Marketing Officer and then Global Brand President.
Beginning in March 2020, she publicly opposed the closure of San Francisco's public schools. Despite being vilified and suffering tremendous reputational harm, she persisted in protesting school closures and other onerous restrictions to children during covid.
In February 2022, she resigned from Levi's, after 23 years at the company.
She is making the feature length documentary film "Generation Covid” in order to tell the stories of the children and families impacted by the prolonged school closures during covid. And to ensure that it never happens again.