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Read what critics and journalists have to say about the POV film that will be streaming for free online until August 14, 2013.

Only the Young follows three unconventional Christian teenagers coming of age in a small Southern California town. Skateboarders Garrison and Kevin, and Garrison’s on-and-off girlfriend, Skye, wrestle with the eternal questions of youth: friendship, true love and the promise of the future. Yet their lives are also touched by the distress signals of contemporary America — foreclosed homes, abandoned businesses and adults in financial trouble. As graduation approaches, these issues become shocking realities. With sun-drenched visuals, lyrical storytelling and a soul-music soundtrack, Only the Young embodies the innocence and candor of its youthful subjects — and of adolescence itself.

“The kids in Only the Young are all right, and so is this likable movie. . . . Mr. Tippet . . . has a terrific eye and a steady hand.”
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“Sweet, heartbreaking and highly accomplished. . . . artful without being arty, composed yet not imposed; rich with immanence, with an apprehension of unfolding, mysterious life, [the images] make you feel without telling you what to feel.”
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times

“If you think one summer in the lives of three skate punks in a sunny Southern California Podunk wouldn’t make a fresh, engaging documentary, Only the Young is here to prove you wrong.”
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Charming. . . . it’s clear that filmmakers . . . like their three main characters . . . and you will, too. . . . Tippet’s compositions, whether landscapes or people, are beautiful and give this film its much-needed sense of intimacy and delicacy.”
David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle

“Human and affecting. . . . [The film] will rouse fans. . . . [the] likable and interesting teen characters feel less like documentary subjects than like figures J.D. Salinger might have crafted in a genial mood. . . . The helmers find consistently invigorating camera angles and a smooth editing scheme.”
Robert Koehler, Variety

“An elegiac portrait of teen America.”
Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post

“An original and handsome work that belies the age of the two young filmmakers behind it.”
Matthew Odam, Austin-American Statesman

Visit Only the Young‘s POV companion site to go behind the lens with the filmmakers. Find out what happened to the subjects of the documentary since the cameras stopped rolling and pick up tips for making your first documentary.

In tandem with the broadcast of Only the Young, POV is launching “My High School Soundtrack.” To participate, imagine you’re a music director creating the soundtrack for a documentary about your own high school experience. Now, make a Spotify playlist titled “My High School Soundtrack” and share it on social media with the hashtag #myHSsoundtrack. The playlists will then be aggregated and posted on the POV website for everyone to explore.

For updates on the 2013 season of POV, subscribe to POV’s documentary blog, like POV on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @povdocs.

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POV Staff
POV (a cinema term for "point of view") is television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films. POV premieres 14-16 of the best, boldest and most innovative programs every year on PBS. Since 1988, POV has presented over 400 films to public television audiences across the country. POV films are known for their intimacy, their unforgettable storytelling and their timeliness, putting a human face on contemporary social issues.