Project Turtle is a student documentary about homelessness, that asks three questions:

-What is the homelessness crisis in America today?

-What are people and organizations doing to address the problem?

-What can young people do to help prevent and cure homelessness in America?

PROJECT TURTLE is competing in film festivals across the United States.

May 9, 2022

Project Turtle is a silver medal winner at Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival. https://www.worldfest.org/

March 4, 2022

Project Turtle is an official selection of the 2022 Cleveland International Film Festival. https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/2022/project-turtle

November/December 2021

Project Turtle wins Gold Award for Best Young Filmmaker (Jaren Elijah Leiken) in the Independent Shorts Awards https://independentshortsawards.com/gold-awards-november-2021/

Project Turtle selected as semi-finalist in the Toronto Independent Film Festival of CIFT and the Indie Short Fest of Los Angeles

View film clips on our website pages and check this page for updates.

Every human being needs a home, the same way that every turtle needs a shell. Human beings cannot survive without some kind of home. A home provides physical protection as well as emotional security. Our home defines us.

There is a homelessness crisis in the United States today, which has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in communities of color. Some of the housing problems were put on hold early in the pandemic, through a moratorium on evictions. As the world continues efforts to heal from COVID-19, millions of Americans are in danger of losing their homes, including because of loss of income stemming from COVID-19.

Many amazing people and organizations are fighting to prevent and cure homelessness and keep people in their homes. Innovative programs and energy are being applied to cure the problem.

Project Turtle is a student documentary by filmmaker Jaren Leiken, made while he was a student at University School in Cleveland, Ohio. Project Turtle shines a spotlight on the homelessness problem in the United States, how amazing people and organizations are trying to cure homelessness, and asks the fundamental question from the perspective of a high school student: what can young people do to help?