EdNC wins multimedia awards from NC Press Association, thanks those we serve
The North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) has awarded EdNC two first place prizes in multimedia projects, for our documentaries and coverage of student playmakers in western N.C. and a community school in eastern N.C.
Those awards are for EdNC’s documentary and reporting about “Surge,” an award-winning play by students about Hurricane Helene — produced by Mebane Rash, directed by Robert Kinlaw, edited by Louis Dechtiar, with Kinlaw also serving as director of photography — and EdNC’s documentary about P.W. Moore Elementary, a community school in Elizabeth City, also produced by Rash with Kinlaw as director of photography and editing.
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EdNC’s documentary about “Surge,” titled “A Long Way Down,” won numerous awards at the Southern Shorts Awards in fall 2025, including “Best Picture.” Last weekend, it also won best “Short Film Documentary” at the 2026 Full Bloom Film Festival.
This month, PBS NC is also playing EdNC’s “Our Community School: The Story of P.W. Moore.” You can find the streaming schedule, and learn more about both documentaries, in the subheadings below.
NCPA also awarded EdNC team members with the following awards:
- Analisa Sorrells Archer won second place in beat news reporting for her coverage of child and school nutrition
- Ben Humphries won third place in news feature writing for his article, “Inside North Carolina’s prison classrooms, where ‘knowledge is not only power, but freedom’”
- Alli Lindenberg Semon won third place in sports feature writing for her article, “Can high school football help transform student lives? This Elizabeth City school thinks so”
From all of us at EdNC: It is our privilege to serve the students, educators, and communities across North Carolina. Thank you for trusting us with your stories, and for the resilience, love, and hope you are spreading across our state.
Read our award-winning work
More on documentaries and where to watch them
“A Long Way Down” was published on Sept. 25, 2025, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene, and won the NCPA’s first place for multimedia projects. It has more than 93,000 views on YouTube.
Surge, the play the documentary covers, premiered to a full house at Watauga High School (WHS) a month after Helene devastated western North Carolina. The play was created by the WHS Pioneer Playmakers.
“It is a love letter to our community,” said Sarah Miller, a theater arts educator and co-director of the play, along with arts educator Zach Walker.
The play went on to gain regional, state, and even national attention, eventually winning five awards at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), “the “strongest and broadest network of theatre practitioners in the United States.”
EdNC’s documentary, “A Long Way Down,” is titled after the play’s original score.
“Thank you to the playmakers and their families, Sarah and Zach, and the school and the district for trusting EdNC to share the story of your leadership,” EdNC CEO and Editor-in-Chief Mebane wrote last September. “… Thank you to Robert Kinlaw, the videographer and director of the documentary, for helping me document this ‘miraculous’ making of a new story.”
In 2025, the NCPA awarded EdNC its public service award for our coverage and strategic support of western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. You can see all of our coverage here.
As the second-year anniversary of the hurricane approaches, the EdNC team remains committed to our coverage and strategic support of western North Carolina moving forward — to being the “stay helpers” WHS students called for in “Surge.”
You can watch “The Long Way Down” on YouTube, or in the article below.
NCPA also awarded EdNC first place in videos for Kinlaw’s documentary, “Our Community School: The Story of P.W. Moore.”
Using the community school model, P.W. Moore has seen growth in recent years, showing that with the right resources, all students can learn and thrive.
EdNC embedded in P.W. Moore Elementary in Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools during the 2024-25 school year. From the first day of school through the last day of school, this film documents the power of the community school model for students, educators, families, and the community.
“Many thanks to the incredible Robert Kinlaw and his Wonder Storytelling for being willing to embed in a school for a whole year and trust the process,” said Rash. “Thank you to Superintendent Keith Parker, the leaders at P.W. Moore, and the N.C. Community Schools Coalition for trusting us with your beautiful story.”
You can watch “Our Community School” on YouTube, where it has more than 90,000 views, or in the article below.
PBS aired “Our Community School” last Thursday and Friday, which is also streaming on the PBS NC app. Here is the schedule for when it will air the rest of the month:
- Sunday, Sept., 2:30 a.m. on North Carolina Channel
- Monday, Sept. 21, 8:30 p.m. on North Carolina Channel
- Tuesday, Sept. 22, 1:00 a.m. on North Carolina Channel
- Tuesday, Sept. 22, 08:30 a.m. on North Carolina Channel