American Teen

2008 Culture & Society [Nf]

In this biting cinéma vérité, director Nanette Burstein follows a group of five Indiana high-school seniors as they navigate the social mazes of adolescence, prepare for graduation, and generally deal with the often surprising and strange situations that arise simply from being 17. Incorporating intimate footage, interviews, and animation, Burstein reveals all the gritty details about life as a teenager in Midwestern America, from drugs, alcohol, and depression to cliques, first love, and heartbreak.

Director: Nanette Burstein

Starring: Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens, Mitch Reinholt, Megan Krizmanich, Jake Tusing

Reviews

  • Shows how a documentary can be as moving and suspenseful as the best narrative feature.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    29 November 2012

  • The players are timelessly familiar in American Teen, too. But filmmaker Nanette Burstein tells their stories with a distinctly 21st-century pop and audacity.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    29 November 2012

  • American Teen isn't as penetrating or obviously realistic as her "On the Ropes," but Burstein has achieved an engrossing film.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    29 November 2012

  • Reality tv, welcome to the multiplex. If "The Hills" went back to high school and developed wit, perception and a conscience, it might play something like Nanette Burstein's wallop of a doc.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    29 November 2012

  • Though it could work as effectively as a television vehicle, American Teen is revealing, funny and involving.

    Claudia Puig - USA Today

    29 November 2012

Awards

  • Best Documentary

    Central Ohio Film Critics Association (2009)

  • Best Documentary

    Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2008)

     
  • Top Five Documentaries

    National Board of Review (2008)

  • Documentary

    Sundance Film Festival (2008)