The Other Kids

About the film

Extras

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2016

• Feature

• 95 min

Coming-of-Age, Documentary, Drama

Directed by Chris Brown

A raw, intimate look at six small-town teens on the verge of high school graduation, The Other Kids is a groundbreaking hybrid of fiction & non-fiction in which real teenagers collaborated with director Chris Brown to tell their own gripping, personal stories.

Florida Film Festival, New Orleans, San Francisco Independent, Big Muddy, New Jersey International, Charlotte, Naples International, River’s Edge, Barcelona International, Destiny City, Cinequest, Santa Fe, Oxford International, San Antonio, Fargo, Anchorage International, Sidewalk, Lone Star, RiverRun, Kansas City, Athens International, Annapolis, Wine Country, Mendocino, Carmel

About the film

Extras

Director's statement

In making The Other Kids, I wanted to try and combine the most vital aspects of fiction and documentary to create something exciting, real and new – almost a "fictumentary." In essence, I used raw materials from real life to create a fictional universe. Unlike my prior films, The Other Kids was made without a script, without a conventional crew and without professional actors. The cast was composed entirely of real teens who based their characters and their stories on aspects of their own lives and struggles. Although I helped each actor construct their character, set up every scene and guided each actor through the improvisational process, I always strove to "direct" as little as possible. Although my non-direction initially frustrated the actors, it eventually forced everyone to find their own voices and discover their own dramatic solutions. Those discoveries ended up being far more powerful than anything I could have written.

Reviews

Refreshingly well-observed…genuine and relevant.

Variety

Honest and compelling.

San Francisco Chronicle

The Other Kids has the look and feel of a very intimate documentary…a much greater sense of authenticity than one finds in most films about teenagers.

Huffington Post

THE OTHER KIDS shatters teen genre convention…Bold and authentic…elegant and profound.

Santa Fe Hometown News

Captivating...in many ways an updated version of that great 90s coming-of-age classic Dazed and Confused.

The Bay Area Reporter

One of the best among umpteen screen attempts to capture adolescent turmoil in recent years.

48 Hills

A quiet, sometimes haunting look at teens on the cusp of adulthood. Beautiful, elegant…profound.

Hollywood in Toto

A caring humanist film in the best sense, an homage to the millions of teenagers who are not student body presidents or cheerleaders.

The Arts Fuse

So honest and natural that it's difficult to guess where life ends and filmmaking begins.

Combustible Celluloid

A potent reminder of a time in every young person’s life when things that in retrospect might seem trivial were instead so vital and urgent…Brown directs with a non-judgmental curiosity, and the film is never forced, never contrived.

Yes Weekly

Sometimes funny, often brutal, but always honest, THE OTHER KIDS is a must-see addition to the genre of coming-of-age films, one that will stand out for its genuine and brave portrayal of what kids must overcome in the final days of high school.

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