Here are just a selection of documentary films that explore the everyday lives and worlds inhabited by the young.

While some of these films are about specific issues and topics related to children & childhood, often taking an editorial approach that is more macro-focused and structural in nature, there are just as many that, delightfully, remain contented to simply explore the lives of an individual child or group of children — helping us to see the world from their perspectives and empathize with their experiences.

Collectively, these documentaries highlight both the great joys and overlooked struggles of childhood. They examine the unfortunate and often domineering prejudices that children experience in a society intended for — and controlled by — adults, and they demonstrate children's agency and creativity in responding to these injustices. These are stories that are united by the tapestry of emotions that go along with childhood friendships and adventures, challenges and triumphs, and they brilliantly showcase children's struggles as they attempt to master their own private world and find their place in the larger one.

This… is childhood.