“Only the Young” presented at the Portland Public Library POV Summer Documentary Series

Thursday, June 27th from 7:30-9:00pm in the Rines Auditorium
Portland, Maine - The Portland Public Library POV Summer Documentary Film Series presents Only the Young on Thursday, June 27th from 7:30-9:00pm in the Rines Auditorium.  Chris Gorman, Associate Director at the Maine Youth Action Network - an organization that seeks to engage and empower youth in Maine - will introduce the film and lead a facilitated discussion with the audience after the film.

The film, by Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims, chronicles skateboarders Garrison and Kevin, and Garrison's on-and-off girlfriend, Skye who are in many ways living the archetypical American teen life. Growing up in the small southern California town of Santa Clarita, they hang out, listen to punk music, change their hairstyles (and hair colors) and complain about living in a place with nothing to do. They explore friendship, discover first love (and heartbreak) and dream about the future. They are unconventional, perhaps, because they combine their Christian faith with American teen culture. They also show remarkable candor in front of the camera.

As beautifully and vividly captured in the new documentary Only the Young, something else is different--the America around them. Foreclosed homes, empty swimming pools, trashy underpasses and a closed mini golf course form much of the visual poetry of Garrison and Kevin's daily skates around town. As high school graduation approaches, these signs of a nation in economic turmoil become dramatic realities that complicate the teens' relationships and their hopes for the future.

The Portland Public Library Summer Documentary Film Series is held on Thursdays  throughout the summer starting at 7:30pm in the Rines Auditorium.  This series is made possible by a partnership between the Portland Public Library and POV (Point of View), Public Television’s premier documentary series.  Films are shown before their actual air date on PBS and offered free to the public.  Facilitated group discussions will be offered after select showings.

The award-winning POV series is the longest-running showcase on American television to feature the work of today’s best independent documentary filmmakers. POV has brought more than 300 acclaimed documentaries to millions nationwide and has a Webby Award-winning online series, POV’s Borders. Since 1988, POV has pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent nonfiction media to build new communities in conversation about today’s most pressing social issues. For more information visit www.pbs.org/pov.

Below is a schedule of upcoming films.

Thursday, July 11 Special Flight *Meeting Room #5
Thursday, July 18 High Tech, Low Life
Thursday, July 25 Homegoings
Thursday, August 1 The Law in These Parts
Thursday, August 8 The World Before Her
Thursday, August 15 5 Broken Cameras
Thursday, August 22 Neurotypical
Thursday, August 29 Ping Pong
Thursday, September 5 56 Up
Thursday, September 12 American Promise
Thursday, September 19 Best Kept Secret
Thursday, September 26 Brooklyn Castle