Edge of Eighteen
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.
Credits
Alex Gibney
Dave Snyder
Amy Kohn
Co-Executive Producer
Betty M Park
Executive in Charge of Production
Stacey Offman
Supervising Producer
Isaac Bolden
Field Producers
Bart Williams
Melanie Collier-Lodge
Cheryl Hess
Erin Shockey
Story Producers
Marion Cunningham
Lauren Geller
Jessica Stokey
Editors
Tim Bartlett
Cy Christiansen
Luis Cuevas
Michael Hong
Allan Piper
Dave Tung
Mike Api
Rebecca Lane
Amanda Zinoman
Kristine Smith
John Cirabisi
Junior Editor
Jenna Bliss
Assistant Editors
Andro Kim
Jota Sosnowski
Alex Frasse
Line Producer
Laurie Bernal
Laura McCune
Production Coordinator
Sara Blechman
Assistant Production Coordinator
Marc Zahakos
Production Accountant
Andrea Modenos Ash
Assistant Production Accountant
Lanishia Washington
Post-Production Supervisors
Karen Yaeger
Mike Reilly
Post-Production Coordinators
Stephen Johns
Nicole Logatto
Associate Producers
Colin Culligan
Sam Kahn
Allison Labanoski
Madeline Post
Sarit G. Work
For Al Jazeera America:
Series Producer
Ashley Kenny
Documentary Unit
Cynthia Kane
Diana El-Osta
David Johnson
Senior Vice President of Programming
Shannon High
President
Kate O’Brian