Filmmakers: Brie Larson; Elegance Bratton; Sydney Freeland; Ekwa Msangi; Smriti Mundhra; Kishori Rajan; Bernardo Ruiz; Yara Shahidi; Rudy Valdez
AFS Envoys: Carri Twigg (Executive Producer); Smriti Mundhra (Director); Raeshem Nihjon (Executive Producer)
Created by Brie Larson and Culture House, “Growing Up” is an innovative hybrid docu-series that explores the challenges, triumphs, and complexities of adolescence through ten compelling coming of age stories. The series uses narrative, experimental, and documentary filmmaking to follow one casted individual, ages 18-22, as they tell their story. They represent a wide range of lived experiences, giving audiences emotionally powerful narratives that offer an engaging look at teenage-hood and the diverse social, familial, and internal obstacles young people face on their path to self-discovery and acceptance. Each 30-minute episode features one young person, or “hero,” and their experience growing up. Each episode is anchored by a deeply personal interview that allows our heroes to walk us through their childhood and teenage years. Alongside these interviews, creative cinematic reenactments help bring their major inflection points to life.