Rife with violence by both youth and staff, and proven to be ineffective in meeting the needs of youth, many of America’s juvenile prisons are failing today’s young people. Most of today’s facilities depend on punishment, including solitary confinement and pepper spray, to treat children. For youth who have already faced unimaginable traumas in their short lives, punishment only prepares them for chaos and scarcity.
Like Any Other Kid provides a rare glimpse into the inner-workings of one of the most promising developments in juvenile justice reform: the use of non-punitive, therapeutic programs to change behavior and help youth re-enter their communities. Following the intimate relationships between incarcerated youth and staff in three unique facilities across the country over the course of three years, the film shows how these programs work. Based on the Missouri approach, where love and structure, instead of punishment, are used, these programs guide and teach youth how to take responsibility for themselves. Through scenes of conflict, vulnerability, reflection, commitment, and joy, the youth transform before our eyes. Like Any Other Kid shows us the great potential of these youth if we let them be just that: like any other kid.
watch trailer
2017 / English / 89 min.
Director: Victoria Mills
Producer: Carolina Correa, Kathy Leichter
Impact Producer: Kathy Leichter
Cinematographer: Daniel Carter
Editor: Michelle Chang
Music: Maxim Moston
Assistant Editor / Producer: Marissa Gouverne
Assistant Impact Producer: Micayla Lubka
AWARDS & FESTIVALS
"If we have a lot of young people imprisoned, there is obviously something wrong from the beginning. The film "Like Any Other Kid" is showing us a big lesson on the principles of what nations and society has to be. Now is time to listen."
​
Toni Navarro
Director del XVI Festival de Cine y Derechos Humanos de Barcelona
Advisory Board & Consultants
Chris Beam, Advisor
award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction about the juvenile justice and foster care systems, and writing professor at Bayview Women’s Correctional Facility
Tonier Cain, Advisor
Public Speaker on Trauma Informed Care, formerly incarcerated youth
Katy Chevigny, Story Consultant
Director/Producer, Big Mouth Productions
David Domenici, Advisor
Director, Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings
​
Francis Guzman, Advisor
Staff Attorney, Juvenile Justice, National Center for Youth Law
Marc Schindler, Advisor
Executive Director, Justice Policy Institute
Mark Steward, Consultant
Director and Founder, Missouri Youth Services Institute
​
Anne Swern, Advisor
Managing Council for Brooklyn Defender Services, and Special Advisor to the Criminal Justice Council, American Bar Association
HOST A SCREENING
Host an in-person screening with Director/Producer Victoria Mills,
and possibly youth and staff from the film, followed by an audience discussion.
Perfect for:
- Arthouse and community cinemas
- Staff and workers in juvenile facilities
- Prosecutors, District Attorneys, Family Court Judges
- Juvenile justice and youth advocacy organizations
- Anyone who works with youth or youth services
- Law Enforcement
- College and graduate level courses in:
-
Public Policy / Public Health
-
Criminal Justice
-
Social Justice
-
Social Work
-
Education
-
Law
PAST SCREENINGS
NPAP/IPTAR Psychoanalytic Institutes, - New York, NY - January 12, 2020
Iona College - New Rochelle, NY - December 5, 2019
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust in conjunction with Oregon Justice Resource Center - Portland, OR - November 21, 2019
Boost Conference - San Diego, CA - May 1, 2019
Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis - Boston, MA - March 30, 2019
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Conference - Las Vegas, NV March 17, 2019
Media That Matters, The Jewish Museum - New York, NY - December 7, 2018
Human Rights Film Festival of Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain - November 29, 2018
Plaza de la Raza, sponsored by the Liberty Hill Foundation - Los Angeles, CA - October 18, 2018
Beyond The Bench - San Jose, CA - May 18, 2018
Hurleyville Arts Centre - New York, NY - April 28, 2018
Create Justice Conference - New York, NY - March 12, 2018
Beyond the Bars - New York, NY - March 3, 2018
Big Sky Film Festival - Missoula, Montana - February 17-18, 2018
San Jose State University - San José, CA - February 2, 2018
Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) - San José, CA - February 3, 2018
Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA) - Orlando, FL - January 5, 2018
Association of Justice Involved Females and Organizations (AJFO) - San José, CA - December 11, 2017
Capitol Cinema Cinema, Missouri Premiere -Jefferson City, Missouri - November 14-16, 2017
Social Change Film Festival - Chicago and New York City - October 2017
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Like Any Other Kid was made possible by many wonderful foundations, community organizations, and individuals.
Ann Abram & Steve Novak
Konrad Aderer & Michelle Chen
Ann Akers
Britainy Anderson
Sharon & Dylan Andrews
Abdi Assadi
Francis Bailey
Bank of America
Noelle Barnes
Harriet Barry
Alan Bass
Robert J Benton & Gerard Roman
Vanessa Bergonzoli
Tiffany Bishop
John Bliss & Leslie Hendelman
Jayne Bloch
Dusan Bogota
Joe Bondi
Margaret Bradley
Wendy Brawer
Bridge City Center for Youth
Anne Brooks
Yanique Brown
Deborah Browning
Ms. Burkett
Jane Burn
George Burnett
Tiago Cabral
Caguax, LLC
The California Wellness
Foundation, Julio Marcial
Enrique Campos
Gladys Carrion
Central Bank
The Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings
Joyce Chang
Children's Defense Fund
Shirley Childs
Kevin Cho
Kade Christenson
Luis Cisneros
Michael Clarke
Tyasia Clark
Alison Cotterill
Tamara Cotton
Carly Cullen
Margaret D'Ambrosio
Faedra Dagirmanjian
Ivory Davila
Martha Davis
Kimara Dawson
Robert De Jesus
Phoebe Dickson
David Domenici
Carol Dougherty & Aileen Clucass
Hayley Downs & Marlan Barry
Rosalie Eisen
Vladimir Elgort
Raphael Elkind
Danae Elon & Philip Touitou
Anne Elwart
Edward Fabian
Susan Falk
Deirdre Finn
​
Melinda Fitting
Tina Flemmerer
Eric & Angela Flock
David & Jan Flock
James & Marcia Flock
John Flock
Darrell Foster
Felipe Franco
Andrea Freshman & David Kiefer
Javier Frias
Charles Galbreath
Trina Gauthier​
Meridien & Alan Gelb
Mary-Joan & Charles Gerson
Evelyn Gonzalez
Jessie Gonzalez
Dianna Goodwin
Kathy Green
Sean Hamilton
Ron and Barbara Hansen
Jermaine Hardy
Tim Havilland
Susan Hazel
Salvador Heredia
Mary Hillsley & Simon Draper
James Holmes
Diamond Holst
Dwayne Hooks
Ivenita Hooper
Deveon Jackson
Jerry Jacobs
Rich Janisch
Terese Johnson
Jahkima Joseph
John Kachinsky
Gina King
Shankar Kumar
Mark Labouchardie
Lenard Lavigne
Janet J. Lawler
Henry LeBeuf
The Left Tilt Fund
Franz Leichter
Dr. Mary Livers
Brian Lopez
Anne Lown
Honorable Katherine Lucero
Lucius and Eva Eastman Fund, Inc.
Flora MacLean
Stephen Malach
Aldair Manzano
Abraham Martinez
Daniel Marwit
Elizabeth McCarthy
Natasha McIntosh
Claus Melati
Madelyn "Maddy" Melendez
Katrina Menchaca
The Meyers Foundation
Maxine Meyerhardt
Hugh Millard
Jermaine Miller
Susan Miller
Keith & Linda Mills
Andrew Moran
Sheila Mitchell​
​Louis Moten
Paul Myrvold
MYSI Staff
Silvio Najt & Mariana Rapport
The New York Community Trust/ Jack Goldring Fund
Sarah Nobles
Lenin Nunez
Tommy Oei & Dawn Flock
Office of Juvenile Justice
Savannah Owens
Julie & Adam Paget
Passages Academy
​Gwen Pelzer
John Pelzer
PepsiCo Foundation via matching gift program
Josephina Perez
Gerard Perna & Borden Elniff
Sheldon Presser
David Pullman
Lauren Pullman
William Racolin & Alison Williams
Amy Rebeterano
Anastasia Roark
Kendrika Roberson
Pili Robinson
June T. Rogers
Constancia Romilly
Tamir Rosenblum
Marianne Rosenfeld
Eleanor Sabini
Laura Schultz
Irene Shekhtman
Sheltering Arms
Philip Shew
Tzachi Slonim & Juliana May
Sony Corporation of America via Matching Gift Program
Angela Sutton
Aviva Stampfer
Carol Stampfer
Lynn Stermer
Mark and Alice Steward
Allan Talbot
Shirley Tang
Loretta Taylor​
Art Testani
Thomson Reuters My Community Program
Mar & Danilo Trevino
Andrea Trimarco
Karen & Gideon Trojan
Tami Turner
Ashley Ventura
Jesus Verela
Dennis Viray
Alyson Walton
Agnes Warburton
Ware Youth Center kids and staff
Linda Washburn & Ira Smolin
Myra Weiss
Cintresa Williams
Arlan Wise
Roberta Wool
The Yip Harburg Foundation