“Being a teenager”: filmed over five years, 10 teenagers reveal themselves

Ten young people were filmed by a film crew, from their entry into high school to their senior prom, for the daring documentary series Being a teenager. Interspersed with leaps in time and reflections that are sometimes candid, sometimes disarmingly lucid, it plunges us right into the heart of adolescence.

These 10 young people come from different regions of Quebec, from different cultural backgrounds and each have different personal issues to deal with. Without knowing each other, without ever meeting, they leave childhood behind and transform into young adults before our eyes.

For director Marisol Aubé (Loto Meno, Passion Dust), “it was an incredible experience”, demanding and certainly “the biggest headache of [sa] life”.

“It’s such an important time, adolescence. There are things that happen that we carry around our whole lives. We live experiences there that will mark our adult lives,” she told the QMI Agency, now hoping that the series resonates and fuels discussions among young people and parents alike.

“It’s crazy to have had the privilege of entering these houses for five years, visiting these families and collecting the confidences that the teenagers had to give me,” she added, specifying that she had neither the role of a psychologist nor the role of a parent, she only listened to them.

Teenagers have their say

Good players and participators, the teenagers entered this unique social experience without asking too many questions, “and with all their naturalness”, underlined the director, whose son, Mika, is one of the participants. “That’s the beauty of the show. We don’t feel like they’re making TV. They are very real and I think it’s still rare that we see teenagers so natural, so real on TV,” she said.

Without a net, over the course of 12 episodes (minimum two per level) they address their performance anxiety, the fear of displeasing, the impact of others’ views on their lives, their self-esteem, their changing body and academic demotivation.

We see them go through big milestones, like their first job, driving lessons, make new friendships, experience their first loves and heartbreaks, discover their identity and go through all kinds of challenges, including the pandemic, who was invited while they were in secondary 2.

“In secondary 5, I expected it to become too concrete, with the broadcast approaching, and [que les ados] were going to start censoring themselves, but not at all. Their last interviews/confidences over these five years were so heartfelt and true that we wanted to sprinkle them throughout the episodes. The secondary 5 interviews were so much “fun” and the look they took on the different years they went through was so powerful,” argued the director.

Their share of obstacles

Born on a farm, Victoria watches over dozens of goats alone and fears the judgment of others. Loïc is in a sports-studies program, while Émy is working hard to enter a similar program.

Andreh and his family fled the war in Syria, where they lived comfortably in ISIS suburbs. When they arrived in Quebec, they had to start from scratch. As the parents’ diplomas are not recognized, the whole family is studying.

For Mika, a type 1 diabetic, high school rhymes with friends and autonomy, while Rachel-Andrée will journey to have better self-esteem.

Ashley Deborah attends an immersion class in the Montréal-Nord borough. Jean-Émilien, a shy boy from the Innu community of Mashteuiatsh, in Lac-Saint-Jean, aims to be the first in his family to complete high school and hopes to become a police officer. Benjamin and Noah, two childhood friends who do not attend the same high school, will each evolve at their own pace.

Being a teenager will be broadcast on Télé-Québec from January 11, at 8 p.m.