SYNOPSIS: Put the Camera on Me is a true-life chronicle of a group of kids growing up in the California suburbs in the 1980s.  Told through the films by filmmaker Darren Stein between the ages of 7 and 15, the film offers an intimate peek into the power structure within a group of kids captured on film when the parents are away - the jealousy, cruelty, sexuality, innocence, and often perverse imagination seen through the eyes of a child auteur at the dawn of the video generation.  These movies become such an integral part of life on the street, that kids would vie for starring roles in the films, as well as the attention and approval of the filmmaker, creating an atmosphere of betrayal and backbiting, with the exhilarating heights and crushing lows of a mini studio system.  Tackling sophisticated themes such as homosexuality, the Holocaust, nuclear war, child abuse and loneliness, Darren's cinematic imagination was precocious as a child, but somehow still familiar to the childhood experiences of us all.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:  What an original idea for a documentary!  When Darren Stein was 7, his father brought home a brand new video camera and started making home movies of his family.  Shortly, Darren became infatuated with the camera and learned, very quickly, how to use it.  He decided that filmmaking was going to be is career and began casting the neighborhood kids in his "movies."  What we see in this documentary are several clips from his films shot during the 1980s and spliced with recent interviews of the cast (who remain close friends to this day) as they talk about their experiences growing up, Darren being gay and having his first sexual experience with Adam (at 13-years-old) during a sleepover (and for the record, "he didn't come"), and how they all worshiped and looked up to Darren.  In the Special Features section of the DVD, 9 of Darren's films he made as a child are available for viewing.

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STARRING: Darren Stein, Adam Shell, Michael Weiner, Evan Stein,  Lisa Weiner, Justin Satinover.
AVAILABILITY: In stock! Ships within one business day.
LENGTH: 72 minutes.
LANGUAGE: English.
SPECIAL FEATURES: 1.33:1 (4:3 Full Screen); 5.1 Dolby Digital Stereo; 1 disc; 7 short films by Darren Stein (as a boy); Chapter selection; Previews; Uncut.
VIEWER DISCRETION: Brief nudity, sexual innuendo, coarse language.
PICTURE QUALITY: Excellent picture quality, however most vintage footage comes from VHS home movies.  (what's this mean?)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA (2003).
ALSO KNOWN AS:
DATE ADDED TO OUR LIBRARY:  July 27, 2007.
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