Catherine Hardwicke's Thirteen, a noteworthy
film in the Stockholm International Competition was a festival favorite, a film
about Tracy, a young woman who goes haywire when Evie, the hottest woman in
high school wants her to hang out with her.

The story is true, and the script was
written and acted by Nikki Reed who plays Evie, the woman who in real life led
her astray into a world of sex , shoplifting and drugs.

More crucial to the story is the role of
substance abuse. Tracy fits the paradigm well, and whether hereditary or not -
mother (played by the fabulous Holly Hunter) attends Alcoholics Anonymous. She is unable for four months
to notice the signs of substance addiction in her daughter, and other details
like a new wardrobe beyond her allowance, piercings and erratic behavior. Later
the downfall of her health and well being helps her to settle a few scores with
an absent father and come to terms with her real power.

Hardwicke met with 13 year olds and their
moms for questions and answers after a screening of the film, and the
floodgates opened. Things they had not spoken about before came up. "Kids
can handle more than parents think", said Hardwicke in Stockholm.

The first time director worried about the rating of her
film in the US: "the "F word" brings an "R" even
though you can kill as many people as you want and get a PG", she
explained.

The bombardment of media images plays a
role in the downward spiral of Tracy but can not explain all of it. "The
messages come all day long", says the director. The messages "you're
beautiful", play on the insecurity of youth. However, there are other
speculative factors that the film raises, which suggest that the message of the
film may even go beyond the initial intentions of the director and
scriptwriter.

Hardwicke realizes that how to handle the
messages in media is the question: deconstructing media, videos, MTV, where
everything looks "fun".

While the film can seem to be relating a
US situation, for the Stockholm audience the film was especially relevant and
timely. A recent study shows that six out of 10 young women do not feel well.
Hardwicke admits that tools for change are limited in the US: speaking to a
therapist for example costs $200 an hour, hardly affordable for young people.

Finding financing for the films was hard
but Hardwicke was determined.

She was able to acquire seed funding because of her experience as set designer for Laurel Canyon and
got the rest from "Working Title". A moving script and colorful
cinematography makes Thirteen a strong entry at film festivals, coming
from Sundance with a directorial award.

Moira Sullivan Nordic Correspondent