Common Bonds

Director: Pacoima Middle School Students

Institute History

  • 1997 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Common Bonds began three years ago when a group of students from Pacoima Middle School made the trek to the Sundance Film Festival to see what independent film was all about. When they returned home, they had one burning ambition: “coming back to Sundance as filmmakers.” These twenty students, all teenagers, set out to write, produce, and direct a feature film.

Common Bonds tells the story of K.C., a rebellious teenage girl who gets in hot water when she is caught and prosecuted for breaking and entering. Her punishment is to serve time in community service work in a senior citizens home. Here she discovers much about herself from those on the other side of the generation gap. With thousands of dollars of donated help from the film industry, Common Bonds is more than a noble experiment; it is an amazingly interesting view of life through the eyes of teenagers. This monumental accomplishment is an inspiration to young filmmakers everywhere.

Screening Details

Credits

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