Synopsis

“Edge of Eighteen” is a documentary television series about life in America as experienced by its 17-18 year olds. What makes the program unique is that most of its footage was shot by the students themselves. Drawn from diverse areas of the United States, these teenagers documented their lives from the dawn of 2014 until sunset on graduation day.

Before they embarked on this mission, they were schooled in the art of documentary filmmaking by one of its masters – “Edge of Eighteen” Executive Producer Alex Gibney – who assembled the kids in New York City for a crash course taught by himself, director Alexandra Pelosi (”Journeys with George”) and editor/ producer/director Sam Pollard (”4 Little Girls”, “When the Levees Broke”), before they returned home to tell their own stories.

It’s one thing to follow news stories about illegal immigrants, LGBT issues, financial aid, youth entrepreneurship, inner city poverty, gun violence, bullying, military service, freedom of religion and teen pregnancy. It’s quite another to experience them first-hand. As these students bear witness to the world around them, viewers will be illuminated about hot-button issues in an unprecedented way. The omnipotent narrator that drags down so many well-meaning documentaries has no place here. Instead, we have first- person accounts: raw, immediate, poignant, honest and utterly gripping.

This is nothing less than the self-portrait of a generation.

Check out the Al Jazeera site for more info and web-exclusive content.

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