'The Youth Governor' Film Tells Inspiring Stories Of Youth In Politics

CULVER CITY, CA — Every year, thousands of teenagers in the state of California gather in the capitol to vote for Youth Governor, a position that allows young people to get first-hand experience in government policies and methodologies.

The documentary "The Youth Governor," directed by Jaron and Matthew Halmy from Culver City, follows the race for the 72nd California Youth Governor. Filmed in 2018-2019, the stories of the finalists in the race unfold as they face adversity and the dirty aspects of politics.

Both directors had experience in the YMCA Youth and Government program when they were younger, and said they knew they needed to show people what it was like.

"Y&G is incredibly robust," Matthew said. "It seems obvious that the Youth Governor is the story to follow, but it took us 10 years to realize that's how you tell the whole story of Youth and Government with one series of kids."

The story follows the top six candidates from the 72nd race, including Piper Samuels from Culver City and Bayo Collins from Long Beach, as they try to juggle their math homework while planning policy speeches that they delivered to thousands of other students. Jaron said that it was beautiful to watch the kids forget they were in high school as they stressed about getting bills passed.

The Youth and Government program runs in 47 states across the US and simulates real government, giving teens the chance to make connections and serve as delegates ready to make a change. It's obvious in the documentary that the candidates are passionate and determined to shake up the way politics is done in America.

The directors said that elected officials could learn a lot from the film to think about ways they could be more responsive and authentic like the kids in the movie. They tackle bi-partisan cooperation, political scandals and the sheer drive to serve the people in the 80-minute documentary.

"I think if a politician was going to watch it, they should just listen very carefully to everything these kids are saying because they are telling the truth," Matthew said.

The goal for the filmmaking team, they said, was to be flies on the wall and fade into the background to focus more on the events. Jaron said that their experience allowed them insight into how best to present the story on a visual and emotional level.

Their overall goal was to tell the story and make a difference, and the audience at the sold-out premiere said they did just that. Sierra Greninger, also a past member of Y&G, said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic the program has hit a rough patch, but she's hopeful for its future after watching the film.

"Thank you so much for finally making this film. I think it's going to be so instrumental in rebuilding the program," Greninger said at the screening. "Just watching the whole program kind of fall apart with the pandemic was really heartbreaking, but I think because of this film we're gonna see a huge comeback."

The Documentary is in theaters at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica and is also available on Apple Movies and Amazon Prime. For more information and to watch the trailer, visit the film's website.