Opening Night: American Teen
Thu, May 29 at 8pm
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
$15
Sold out!

It is with great excitement that we shake up Opening Night by bringing you an award winning documentary whose engrossing true stories rival any imaginary narrative plot out there. In American Teen director Nanette Burstein intimately follows the lives of five teenagers in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school. Filming daily for ten months and using cinema vérité footage, interviews, and animation, she presents a vivid portrait of being seventeen and all that goes with it. She developed a remarkably close rapport with these students and their families and the kids open up in her presence and lay bare their lives. Through Burstein's incredible talent for storytelling and uncovering the many layers of truth in her subjects, the end result is a film that goes beyond the stereotypes of high school—the nerd and the jock, the homecoming queen and the arty misfit—to capture the complexity of young people trying to make their way into adulthood.
—JOHN COOPER, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival and Director of Creative Development, Sundance Institute

USA, 2007, 95 min., color, Sony HD Cam

Director/Screenwriter: Nanette Burstein
ExP: Molly Thompson, Nancy Dubuc, Rob Sharenow, Elisa Pugliese, Patrick Morris
Pr: Jordan Roberts, Nanette Burstein, Eli Gonda, Chris Huddleson
Ci: Laela Kilbourn
Ed: Mary Manhardt


Following the screening, American Teen ticket holders are invited to join Sundance Institute and BAM for the Opening Night Prom Party. We're throwing the senior prom most high school students only dream of, with dancing, great music, spiked punch, and nary a chaperone in sight. Complimentary drinks by Brooklyn Brewery and Saaga 1763 Vodka. For boutonnieres and corsages, you're on your own.