Documentary filmmakers Juliane Dressner and Edwin Martinez shine a light on the story of a group of high school seniors serving as peer mentors. Karoline, Christine, and Enoch balance their own college applications with their passion to help others, even as the reality of college remains shrouded in unknowns. Uplifting and eye-opening, Personal Statement follows both the interior journey of the three students as well as the broader issues facing young people today–economic disparity, lack of opportunities, and the daily struggle to make sense of the college application process itself. As the graduating class takes their first steps toward both planned and unplanned futures, it becomes clear that the film is as much about the uncertainties of growing up as it is the strength of the young people taking the future into their own hands.
Juliane Dressner is a director, producer and cinematographer making her feature debut with Personal Statement. Co-director Edwin Martinez first documentary was To Be Heard (10), and he is also a professor at SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory.
"Personal Statement shows the real-life impact of the lack of guidance counselors in high schools around the country" - Burlington Free Press