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This 30-minute documentary short is an illuminating portrait of several young
people in Los Angeles and the complex and intricate role that money plays in
their lives. Ranging in age from 11 to 17, and spanning several socio-economic
levels, thirteen kids (and a few of their parents) are interviewed in their homes,
and discuss everything from their shopping habits and addictions, the
importance of clothes and fitting-in at school, getting money from parents
versus making their own money, and the overwhelming pressures of
consumerism and image in LA.
A decade ago, photographer Lauren Greenfield's monograph, "Fast Forward:
Growing Up in the Shadow of Hollywood," explored the way Los Angeles youth
are affected by an overwhelming materialism that exalts image. One of the
photographs from Fast Forward depicted Phoebe, a three-year old, lying on a couch in the Barneys shoe department. Now 16, Phoebe makes a
return appearance in Kids + Money, newly sensitive to the adverse effects of
affluence.
Among the other young people we meet in the film: 16-year-old Gabby, who says
shopping is her hobby and sees fashion as a means of self-expression; 17-year-
old Sean Michael, whose middle-class parents refuse to front the $700 a month
he spends on clothes and shoes; 17-year-old Emmanuel, who addresses the politics of money at his private school; Matthew, a young actor who says he spends up to $300 a day
at the mall; 17-year-old Zoie, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her
parents; and others.
Kids + Money has screened at a number of highly-recognized international film
festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, Hot Docs Film Festival, Newport
Beach Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Silverdocs, and the London Film
Festival, among many others.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: Lauren Greenfield's directorial debut was the acclaimed
2006 HBO Documentary Film, Thin. Named one of the 25 most influential people
in photography (one of three women on the list), her photos have appeared in
New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Time, National Geographic and
other publications, and have been displayed in museums and galleries across the
U.S. and abroad. Her first two books, Fast Forward: Growing up in the Shadow
of Hollywood and Girl Culture, were optioned as feature films.
CREDITS: Directed and Produced by Lauren Greenfield; Co-Producers: Allison Amon and Deanne
Mehling; Line Producer: Alana Goldstein; Director of Photography: David Rush Morrison;
Editor: Adam Parker; Production Manager: Melinda Nugent; Original Music: John Nau &
Andrew Feltenstein, Beacon Street Studios.
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