In August 1999, ten students at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles were given video cameras to document their lives. There were no limitations placed on what they could shoot. After one week, the cameras were given to ten new students, who filmed their lives for a week, then passed the cameras on. Like chain letters, these cameras circulated through the student body an entire year, capturing a riveting variety of contemporary urban high school experiences. Utilizing this strikingly original method of production, CHAIN CAMERA brings a raw, intimate and provocative look into lives and feelings of Generation Next.

CHAIN CAMERA brings together footage from 16 intriguing students. Since no professional film crew was involved, we see them talking and behaving in ways no teenager would do if an adult were present. Scenes involving sexuality, political activism, reflections on suicide, family strife, love, violence, gay/straight relationships and ethnic tensions are presented just as the teenagers experienced them.

Located two miles east of Hollywood, Marshall High School is at the cusp of America's next wave of immigration, with students from 90 different countries. Our cameras capture this vibrant new mix of cultures, foretelling what California and much of the country will be like within decades. Not only does each student reveal a different experience, each shoots it in his or her own unique style. As CHAIN CAMERA unfolds, we find ourselves moving through one POV after another, slipping inside each of the student's minds as they record their lives in a humorous, compassionate and intensely personal way. The result is a powerful journey across the emotional landscape of an emerging generation.