American Teen (out on DVD now) is a cool doco that follows a bunch of real-life US high school kids around, and Hannah Bailey is one of the teens who wound up in the film!Check out this interview with Hannah, by J.I Cuenca.
1. Q. How did you get involved in American Teen?
A. At the end of my junior year we were told a documentary crew was coming to our school. There was an open casting and I went -mostly because I was interested in filmmaking and I thought it would be great experience.
2. Q. Since when have you been interested in cinema?
A. Ever since I was very young I have wanted to work in movies.
3. Q. When did you first meet filmmaker Nanette Burstein?
A. They called me back for a second interview, this time on camera, and that’s when I met her. A couple of months later, somewhere around August or September 2005, Nanette asked me to be in the movie.
4. Q. Did you ever imagine that something like that would happen to you?
A. I never imagined something like American Teen would ever happen to me, but things happen and you have to take those opportunities when they come.
5. Q. What was Nanette like to work with?
A. Nanette is incredibly smart and a very hard worker. And she was kind of like a mother to me, though she could also be a little pushy. We spent a lot of time together, even without any cameras or crew around us, and I really got to trust and like her.
6. Q. When did you learn what it was all about?
A. She had a big meeting with us -that our parents also came to- and explained what it was all about. Nanette wanted us to be natural and just continue with our lives in our everyday environment.
7. Q. Was it hard to lead a normal life knowing there were cameras pointing at you?
A. It was tough in the beginning, which is why Nanette didn’t use much of that footage. She wanted it to be real and natural.
8. Q. Did it get easier later on?
A. As the year moved on we got less annoyed with them and actually got used to having cameras around us; but sometimes we would ditch them.
9. Q. So, you were never acting?
A. It that sense it was easy, because I never acted. What you see on screen is just me, hanging out and being myself. And all those things really did happen to me.
10. Q. Even when you heart gets broken?
A. Yes, even then. And it got broken twice! I guess that was good for the film, but not for me.
11. Q. Who decided what would or wouldn’t be filmed?
A. We would call Nanette if something important or of interest was going to happen. And maybe once a week we would meet with her and make a little schedule. But, in the end, we had the option of saying “no,” because she was always respectful and never invasive.
12. Q. How did your life change during that school year?
A. In the beginning of the year, when my boyfriend broke-up with me, I was very self-conscious and self-pitying, and felt the weight of the world was on my shoulders and that I was the only one going through bad times. But I soon learned that it was all normal.
13. Q. In the documentary you are very sure about leaving Warsaw, and you did. Would you ever go back to live there?
A. I like to visit Warsaw, but I would never live there again because I prefer to be in a city where there are more things to do.
14. Q. Was it easy to watch yourself on the big screen?
A. I prefer to watch the others than myself, but it’s tough to see my family and how unhappy I made them. I think I was harsh with them when I told them I had to leave, though at the time it felt like the right thing to do. I wish I had been a little more sensitive.
15. Q. In American Teen you come off as the free-spirited rebel of the group.
A. I agree with that, but I also think that the whole point of the film is also to prove that people are complex and shouldn’t be stereotyped. And I think the movie is about breaking down these stereotypes and showing how hard high school can be, and not just for the outcasts but also for the popular girls.
16. Q. In what way was high school tough for you?
A. It was hard because it was the most judgmental and self-conscious time of my life, though looking back at it I feel we were a little whinny too. In high school you are on the brink of independence and adulthood, but you are not quiet there yet, so you feel a lot of pressure. For me, it has only gotten better since then.
17. Q. How has it improved?
A. I have opened up and enjoyed being the person I really am a little more. I feel I have matured a bit too, and I am closer with my family and more understanding of what I put them thru.
18. Q. How does “American Teen” compare to other films that are set in high school?
A. Being a documentary, this movie shows a little more about real people and real problems, and not just sugarcoated versions of what it is like to be in high school.
19. Q. What did you learn about filmmaking with this experience?
A. Nanette showed me that it isn’t as easy as I thought it was because I saw the reality of filmmaking and the amount of hours and hard work put into it. So, it was also a reality check for me.
20. Q. Being in the Sundance Film Festival with this movie must have been special for you.
A. We all went there and it was amazing! It was something I had always wanted to do, and I was very lucky to go to Sundance at such a young age. I was more interested in seeing films than going to parties; but unfortunately I caught the flu and had to stay in bed, so I didn’t get to see as much as the rest.
