Going on 13 | Press

Press Materials

Articles/Reviews/Interviews

Interview with director, Dawn Valadez about “Going on 13” at DocFest — FilmClick

Radio interview with directors, Kristy Guevara-Flanagan & Dawn Valadez — Help! My Teenager is an Alien, internet radio show hosted by Sarah Newton

SilverDocs Diary: Alternative American Teens — Karina Longworth, Spout blog

Film Review — Beth Greenfield, Time Out New York

Film fest for kids calls 'cut' today — Jo Ann Kirby, The Stockton Daily Record, January 18, 2009

Women take the documentary helm at Tribeca fest — Simi Horwitz, Hollywood Reporter/Reuters

Film Review — MaryAnn Johanson, The Flick Filisopher

Documentary follows area girls going through puberty — Martin Ricard, Oakland Tribune, April 13, 2008

Success is how you define it — Dan Webster, The Spokesman-Review

Filmmakers follow girls' lives, from playtime to puberty — JoAnne Tobias, SF Chronicle, July 1, 2005

Two women explore minds of pre-teen girls in film (pdf) — Julissa McKinnon, Oakland Tribune, December 4, 2002

Press contact

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What People Are Saying

"**** (Four Stars) A rare and frequently inspiring close-up on girls who are at an age that is usually quite impenetrable to adults"
—Beth Greenfield, Time Out New York

"This film provides a nuanced depiction of puberty that is a must see for anyone working in education, social work, or allied fields. I cannot wait to show this film to my students. I wish it had been there for me!"
—Karra Bikson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, NYU's Silver School of Social Work

”…frank and compelling. An excellent choice for discussions about what it means to become a young woman in today’s society.”
—Robin Levin, School Library Journal

"In the same spirit as the acclaimed Seven Up! series...this program tracks four culturally diverse...San Francisco Bay-area girls as they progress from sweet 9-year-olds into loquacious teens.
—Sue-Ellen Beauregard, Booklist

"Extraordinary. Remarkable. Insightful. Real. Amazing. Beautiful. Powerful. Important."
—Julie Metzger, Nurse Consultant at Seattle Children's Hospital

"It's heartbreaking to see that girls who are young enough to be my own children aren't facing, a generation later, a world any more accomodating to their needs as the one I grew up in. But it's also strangely stirring in a way, too...in a culture that values the stories of boys and men more than those of girls and women, here are the voices of girls and women in all their complicated and human glory."
—MaryAnn Johanson, The Flick Filosopher

"GOING ON 13 brings the need for youth programs and positive female role models into sharp relief."
—Lindsay E. White, Eureka! Internship Coordinator, Girls Inc. of Alameda County

“If you have anything to do with children, tweens or teenagers then watch this film. Very rarely do we get such an unedited version of life for our young women.”
—Sarah Newton, Author & Radio Host, Help! My Teenager Is an Alien: The Everyday Situation Guide for Parents

"For most people, the teenage years stand out in sharp relief. What tends to be blurry are those years between childhood and becoming a teen. Four years in the life of an adult does not typically result in creating an entirely new person the way four adolescent years do...This film shares with viewers a rare look into the lives of girls."
—Joanne Tobias, San Francisco Chronicle

"Fascinating and engrossing. I'd recommend it for a variety of courses in psychology, education, sociology, and anthropology at the college level."
—Laraine M. Glidden, Ph.D., Visiting Professor of Psychology, Center on Health and Education, Georgetown University

"What I found most inspiring about this documentary was how resilient each girl turned out to be. A must-see for gender studies, psychology, or education curricula. Every college library should own this DVD."
—Melanie Bishop, Associate Professor, Arts & Letters, Prescott College, AZ