American Teen is a 2008 documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 directed by Nanette Burstein

Nanette Burstein

Nanette Burstein is an American film and television director. Burstein has produced, directed, and co-directed many documentaries which have won her many awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary and the Sundance Special Jury Prize for Documentary.-Life and...

 (On the Ropes, The Kid Stays in the Picture

The Kid Stays in the Picture

The Kid Stays in the Picture is the name of a 1994 autobiography by film producer Robert Evans. It is also the name of a 2002 film adaptation of the book directed by Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen and released by Focus Features and USA Pictures...

) and produced by 57th & Irving

57th & Irving

57th & Irving Productions is a New York City-based production company specializing in independent motion pictures. The company was founded in September 2005 by the Morris Family...

. It competed in the Documentary Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival

2008 Sundance Film Festival

The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was In Bruges and the closing night film was CSNY Déjà Vu.-Films:...

, where it received the Directing Award: Documentary. Following the Sundance Film Festival, the movie was picked up by Paramount Vantage and was released to general cinema July 25, 2008.

Much of the movie was filmed at Warsaw Community High School

Warsaw Community High School

Warsaw Community High School is a public high school located in Warsaw, Indiana, the county seat of Kosciusko County. It is under the Warsaw Community Schools Corporation, its current superintendent being Dr. Craig J Hintz of Minnesota. The school's principal is Mr...

 in Warsaw, Indiana

Warsaw, Indiana

Warsaw is a city in and the county seat of Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. Cradled among Winona Lake, Pike Lake, Hidden Lake and Center Lake, Warsaw is nicknamed "Lake City," though other cities in the surrounding area are also referred to by that nickname...

. Director Nanette Burstein originally reviewed more than 100 different schools in the pre-production process, and ten schools replied, agreeing to participate. After she interviewed incoming seniors at all 10, she chose Warsaw.

Primary Characters

• Hannah Bailey - the "rebel." Hannah is an artist, musician, writer and wannabe filmmaker whose liberal views are not a good fit for the conservative small-town culture of Warsaw. Early in the year, her long-time boyfriend breaks her heart, causing her to miss weeks of school while she recovers from the heartbreak, and later, while she deals with possible embarrassment at school for missing so many days. She dates Mitch for a while during the year, but their relationship causes friction with his clique of friends, and he breaks up with her via text message. At the year's end, she heads to San Francisco to live (and eventually go to college). In the film's credits, it's revealed she left the west coast for New York City to study filmmaking.
• Colin Clemens - the "jock." Colin is a well liked, humorous student whose primary focus during the year is athletics. As the star basketball player for Warsaw, he realizes the year is a make-or-break opportunity to impress scouts and get a scholarship. To not get a scholarship will likely mean enlisting in the military - something his father constantly brings up through the film.
• Megan Krizmanich - the "queen bee" or "princess." Megan is a popular student in many ways. She is academically talented, popular, and involved in many extracurricular activities. Her ultimate goal is to get into the University of Notre Dame
  University of Notre Dame
  The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
  
  , something that many of her family members have done before her. She is manipulative and mean, but she is also humanized by the portrayal of her own social and emotional struggles.
• Mitch Reinholt - the "heartthrob." Mitch is popular at school because of his easygoing ways, his good looks, and his sports talent (he's a teammate of Colin's). He is the least featured of the five primary students, and is even left off some versions of the film's movie poster. Mitch features prominently into the story when he starts dating Hannah.
• Jake Tusing - the "geek" or "gamer." Jake is an introverted student whose hobbies are the marching band and video games. He longs to find and keep a girlfriend, and much of his storyline revolves around his dating life.

Criticism

Some film critics have accused the director, Nanette Burstein, of giving the documentary a sensationalized

Sensationalism

Sensationalism is a type of editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and pieces are over-hyped to increase viewership or readership numbers...

 feel, and others have gone so far as to claim that the film feels scripted and the very presence of the cameras take the reality out of the situation.

External links

• Lots of drama over 'American Teen' at Los Angeles Times
  Los Angeles Times
  The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
  
  
• eFilmCritic.com interview with Nanette Burstein and Jordan Roberts about 'American Teen.'