Film Award Season favors regional filmmaker
Ft. Hays State filmmaker winning big for Garden of Eden Documentary
The Garden of Eden received exciting news last week from Ryan Schuckman, a Fort Hays State University student who produced the Garden of Eden documentary in 2024 as a part of his Digital Media Production and Journalism coursework. The film (which is available on Tiger Media Net’s YouTube channel) was submitted to multiple competitions in early 2025, and is receiving awards.
Ryan wrote to us with the news:
“Hello, I just wanted to share with you that the Garden of Eden documentary has received some more recognition recently! It was a winner of a Student Production Award in the "Arts/Entertainment/Cultural Affairs" category of the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). This is basically the equivalent of winning a student Emmy although students aren't allowed to use the "Emmy" name because we're not yet peer professionals. It also placed first in the Latest Generation Film Contest which was put on by the Lincoln Presidential Foundation”
The Lincoln Presidential Foundation is announced the winners of its inaugural Latest Generation Film Contest in April. The contest invited submissions from Midwest filmmakers ages 14 to 22, and submissions reflected a wide range of topics and interests. The winning films, reviewed by a panel of filmmakers and educators, will premiere at a red carpet event in Chicago on June 22.
The name of the contest was inspired by a question Abraham Lincoln posed to an Indianapolis crowd in 1861: "Shall the liberties of this country be preserved to the latest generation?” Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns helped launch the contest last year with a video announcement encouraging young filmmakers to engage with the history around them.
We’re so happy for Ryan and his careful, considerate storytelling, and look forward to watching his future investigations into Kansas histories and legends. A heartfelt Congratulations! from the board of directors and staff of the Friends of S.P. Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden!