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One of the only films to emerge with strong buzz from the surprisingly low-key first half of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival is director Nanette Burstein's feature documentary American Teen, which follows four Indiana high-schoolers through their senior year.
EW.com sat down with the film's four subjects: Megan, the most popular girl in school (and all that implies); Colin, the star of the varsity basketball team; Jake, the socially inept band geek and videogame fanatic; and Hannah, the free-thinking artist who serves as the film's de facto center and occasional narrator.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Was Saturday's premiere screening the first time you'd seen the movie?
MEGAN: We'd watched it the night before, as a group, and that was definitely a different atmosphere than watching it with 400 strangers and seeing how they reacted.
What was that like, watching an audience react to the film?
COLIN: I didn't think they would get so into it, like, during the movie. You figure you'd get applause and stuff after, but they were cheering when things went well for us [in the film]. And when Megan did some harsh things [Megan sheepishly laughs], they were up on that too. So it was just cool to see them get into it like that.
I just can't imagine having my high school life up there on screen and having complete strangers react to it. Are you still processing it all?
MEGAN: Yes, [giggles] definitely.
HANNAH: Yeah, I don't think it's hit any of us yet. Right after the movie, we came down [to the front of the theater] and they were taking pictures, and it started to hit us a little bit I think. But, still, it's incredible: We're being ourselves, they taped it and put it on screen, and people like it!
MEGAN: Everybody's like, ''Great job!'' We were just being ourselves.
Jake, out of the four of you, you seem to have changed the most from the film to now — you've cut off all your hair and grown a hip-looking goatee. Do you feel like you've changed a lot?
JAKE: I still feel as awkward as ever. I'm just better at saying stuff while I'm really awkward. [Everyone laughs]
You all weren't really that socially connected in the film. Has this experience brought you together now as friends?
MEGAN: Just in the past couple days, I feel like we've been brought together with the film. We've all just been hanging out, which is great.
HANNAH: Yeah we're staying together, so [pauses] we're in this together. [Laughter] None of us can believe this is happening. It's a huge thing to bond over. We're all part of this one movie. It's been really fun, hanging out with everyone.
COLIN: It's weird, because it's almost like we've been friends forever. Like, the way we're acting right now, like kidding around with each other, it's like we've been friends our whole lives. It's pretty cool.
There were some really raw and difficult things that happened to all of you that the cameras were right there to capture. Did that affect those experiences for you?
HANNAH: Um, the cameras did not really affect [things for us]. Like, take Joel, the first boyfriend who broke up with me. Nanette, I called her to tell her, because I still had it in my mind a little bit, like, even though I was so upset, this is going to be so good for the movie. [Laughter] So she came over and taped for a little bit, and I wasn't even looking at the camera. I didn't care; I had more important things to think about. But then, afterwards, she put the camera down and we just went back to her house and talked about it. There was that balance between filmmaker and great friend, which made getting through those tough times [easier], having an adult who didn't treat you like a kid.
NEXT PAGE: Megan discusses getting caught on camera vandalizing a fellow teen's house (''It seemed like such a good idea at the time'')
