Chain Camera

The film is a compilation of footage shot by students at John Marshall High School, an ethnically diverse institution just outside Hollywood. Kirby Dick handed out 10 palm-sized video cameras to students; after one week, the cameras were passed along to another 10 kids, and so on. A year later, Dick whittled down more than 700 hours of footage into 16 often startling mini-diaries. The subjects boast a wide range of backgrounds and personalities, but one of their remarkable commonalities is the small role that school plays in how their lives function. Whatever happens in the classroom seems to have no relation to what happens outside; they only feel free to express who they are in the safe quarters of their bedrooms and living rooms.