Only the Young premieres July 15, 2013 at 10 PM on PBS stations, along with the short xoxosms. (Check local listings.) Only the Young will be available for streaming on the POV website from July 16 to 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.

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 from two award-winning young filmmakers.

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.

The 90-minute broadcast will also include Nancy Schwartzman’s xoxosms, a short documentary that chronicles digital intimacy and love in the 21st century. xoxosms will be available for streaming on the POV website starting Tuesday, July 16, 2013. Visit xoxosms‘s companion site to learn more about the history of technology and courtship.

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 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.