How Long Is “Going on 13”?

In the tradition of director Michael Apted's popular Up series comes this documentary tracing the transition from adolescent to adulthood for four ethnically diverse young women. Like every child, each of the girls possess unique traits that become increasingly better defined as she finds her way in the world: Oakland tomboy Ariana is a natural leader who takes pride in her independence, Sao Paolo fifth grader Esmerelda starts searching for a boyfriend despite the vocal objections of her traditional father, devoutly religious American Isha divides her time between praying at a Hindu shrine and chatting online under names like "ghetto girl," and determined ten year old Rosie is mature beyond her years due to the fact that her parents are divorced. In drawing on various unique film styles and attempting to tell the girls' stories at a playful pace, directors Kristy Guevara-Flanigan and Dawn Valadez strive to contrast their subjects' family lives against their inevitable transition into the real world.