On Sunday, Sept. 7, Al Jazeera America premiered the documentary by executive producer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, “Edge of Eighteen,” detailing the ups and downs of being 18 years old in the United States. Fifteen high school seniors shared their experiences, including the U’s own modern dance major, Angela Lee.
Lee was already dancing at a professional level during senior year in her hometown of Lubbock, Texas when her dance teacher was approached by a casting agency in Los Angeles. She suggested that Lee apply, and after filling out an application and receiving a phone call about interviews, Lee was flown to New York, where she met Alex Gibney and the entire cast of “Edge of Eighteen.”
“It was a really exciting process,” Lee recalled. “It kind of came out of the blue for me, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t resist.”
After a crash-course in documentary filming, taught by Gibney himself, each student was sent back home with the proper equipment for filming and set out to record their lives for the next three months. What follows is an in-depth look at the last half of their senior year, each struggle, passion and insecurity they felt during the transition into adulthood.
“We would turn the camera on ourselves, we could get friends to help film our story, and it was really an incredible process,” Lee said. Lee, who was already interested in film, referred to it as a kind of therapy, where raw emotions were explained to the camera, and suddenly it felt like confiding in a friend during the turbulent months of filming. “You really start to let go of any feelings or boundaries that you have about filming, and you really want to capture what your story truly is. In order to do that, you have to get every moment, and that’s what I tried to do.”
The first two episodes highlight Lee and two other students, Brandon McCauley of Lebanon, Ohio and Hanoy Urtarte from Paterson, N.J. McCauley recruits students to participate during his lunchtime bible study group and is struggling to decide whether to be a missionary or study architecture at the University of Cincinnati, where he’s already been accepted. Urtarte is a successful and popular student at his high school but is still waiting for acceptance from his conservative Dominican father since coming out three years ago. The first of the six-part series invites viewers into these students’ lives, provoking feelings of reflection and understanding for them in such a difficult stage of life. Lee’s decision to pursue dance, her passion, over an academic career led her to the U. Boasting one of the top modern dance programs in the nation, Lee felt that it was a perfect environment for her.
“When I was here auditioning, it felt incredible, it felt like home to me. It felt like a place where I could grow and develop as an artist,” she said.
There are still five more episodes, airing every Sunday night at 7 p.m. MT until Oct. 12. Follow along as Lee and 14 other students progress through their journey.
To find Al Jazeera America in your area, visit www.aljazeera.com/getajam. In Utah, Al Jazeera America airs on Comcast and nationally on DirecTV and DISH. For more information, visit: http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/edge-of-eighteen.html
@ChronyArts