No Loitering

Teens searching for a place
by
Ellen Frankenstein
2001
57 mins

No Loitering is an intimate portrait of teenagers trying to understand their world and their possibilities.

I loved the film. It took the kids' voices seriously without romanticizing them and it offers up a powerful commentary on the need to make young people a priority by giving them public spaces, resources, and public goods. A terrific production.
Henry Girioux
Professor of Secondary Education, Penn State University & Author, "Channel Surfing: Racism, The Media & the Destruction of Today's Youth"

Synopsis

No Loitering is an intimate portrait of teenagers trying to understand their world and their possibilities. The film weaves together video shot by teens and by the filmmaker, as they work together to make a film and create expressive outlets for youth in the community. They organize dances and community events and paint a mural. At the same time, with humor and pathos, these young people raise issues around violence, feeling misunderstood by adults and lacking respect in their community. Set in the small town of Sitka, Alaska, home to a large Native American population, the video chronicles their creativity, concerns and dreams.

Reviews
No Loitering includes seemingly contradictory themes (does this community care about its kids, or not? Are Native and white youth well integrated, or is there discrimination?) without imposing a heavy-handed conclusion; the viewer can decide, and the answer is not simple. Nor is it anywhere in America.
Mike Males
Sociologist and Professor, UC Santa Cruz & Author, "The Scapegoat Generation"
A film about the kids teachers hate to have in the classroom. A film teachers need to see.
Cathy Poulson
High School English Teacher, Sitka, Alaska
The program, which captures the concerns of teens and their efforts to overcome their sense of isolation through video shot by teens as well as the filmmaker, may inspire other teens to talk about issues of vital importance. It could be used in guidance, health, psychology and sociology classes.
Anita Gordon
Lincoln High School, Ypsilanti, MI, School Library Journal
...an admirable job of encouraging their subjects to share the conditions of their lives, helping them to establish a common bond in order to break through the barriers of fear and distrust... Useful in public, college, and school libraries. Starting with middle school grades.
Marianee Eimer
SUNY, Fredonia Library Library Journal
Kids would rather feel something that makes them sick inside than not feel anything at all.
Dana Chase
participant in No Loitering
I'm happy with limbo and being morbid. That's not where I want to be for the rest of my life. I want to change the world through art.
Peter Williams
participant in No Loitering
As a filmmaker and a parent of urban teens, I find No Loitering to be a powerful tool for getting kids to see a world outside their own and to begin talking about a wide range of issues of vital importance. I recommend it highly for high school students, alternative schools, guidance courses, sociology, psychology, and teacher training, to name but a few.
Marlene Booth
Filmmaker & Parent

Awards and Screenings
Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival
Anchorage Film Fesitival
PBS Broadcast
VTV: Varsity Television
Council on Foundations Film & Video Festival
Western Psychological Association Convention
Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Board
Northwest Network on Youth
Deadcenter Film Festival
Fledgling Film Festival

Promotional Material

Promotional Stills

Opens in new window