Generation COVID documentary explores how prolonged school closures and related mandates have affected children and families six years after classrooms were disrupted nationwide.
Directed by Jennifer Sey and Andrew James, the film follows families in California, New York, Oregon, Colorado and Connecticut, documenting their experiences over more than four years as they navigated remote learning, shifting policies and the social and academic fallout.
Generation COVID documentary tracks families across five states
Sey said many communities appear eager to move past the pandemic, yet she believes a significant number of children continue to struggle with the consequences of closures. She described the project as an effort to create a visible record of that period and to inform a different response in any future public health crisis.
Sey, who lived in San Francisco for over three decades and publicly criticized the city’s extended shutdowns, said the stance came at personal cost. After leaving her job in 2022, she began producing the documentary to focus attention on students’ experiences.
A former elite gymnast and national team member, Sey said her advocacy for children is rooted in her own experience of abuse in the sport. She previously produced Athlete A, the Emmy-winning documentary about the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal and wider misconduct in elite gymnastics. She said that history has driven her to keep speaking out when she believes children are being harmed.
Sey also argued that some pandemic-era policies and messaging failed to account for children’s developmental needs, including socialization and early language acquisition, and that fear weighed heavily on younger students.
The film examines the academic and emotional costs associated with closures, as well as the information environment around pandemic policies that Sey believes contributed to their duration. Generation COVID premieres Oct. 22, 2026, on SalemNOW.