Dallas Students Premiered Documentary Project

The Hockaday School seniors debuted a film featuring conversations with local strangers.

Updated on Oct. 7, 2026 in Teens

Dallas Students Premiered Documentary Project

Live Poll

Would you make an effort to strike up conversations with strangers in your daily life?

Dallas teenagers Helen Flanagan and Eres Stone have debuted a new documentary project titled Our Human Voices. The seniors at The Hockaday School developed the work after interviewing over a dozen local residents to explore curiosity.

Why it matters

The project seeks to replace common assumptions about neighbors with genuine curiosity and intentional conversation. By documenting these interactions, the students aim to bridge social gaps within the Dallas community.

The documentary was created by 17-year-old seniors Helen Flanagan and Eres Stone. The students conducted more than a dozen interviews with local residents.

The players

Helen Flanagan

She is a 17-year-old student at The Hockaday School and a youth apprentice for the Nest Foundation.

Eres Stone

She is a 17-year-old senior at The Hockaday School who co-created the documentary project.

The Hockaday School

This is an independent girls school in Dallas where the project creators are currently enrolled as seniors.

Nest Foundation

This organization manages the Our Human Voices campaign focused on youth advocacy and storytelling.

Angelika Film Center

This is a Dallas-based independent cinema venue hosting the documentary premiere and community discussion.

The details

The students spent months using their phones to record conversations with strangers throughout Dallas as part of their work with the Nest Foundation. The resulting project features video highlights and recorded audio aimed at fostering dialogue.

October 7, 2026, marks the premiere of the documentary project.
The community screening begins at 7 p.m. at the Angelika Film Center.

Culture Shift

This project reflects a broader trend of youth-led media initiatives that prioritize social engagement over traditional content creation. It marks a departure from passive media consumption toward active, community-based narrative development.

Residents can attend the screening at the Angelika Film Center to participate in the Q&A session with the filmmakers. This provides an opportunity to engage directly with the interview subjects and discuss the role of empathy in the community.

The takeaway

Engaging strangers in meaningful conversation can effectively challenge personal biases and increase social connection. Readers are encouraged to initiate their own curiosity-driven dialogues to foster a more inclusive community environment.