Created from 1,000 hours of footage shot over 10 months in 2005 and 2006, Nanette Burstein's most recent documentary American Teen follows five teens through their senior year of high school in Warsaw, Indiana; but the concept behind the film is fascinating in and of itself. As I watched, I couldn't help but wonder how real what we were seeing actually was. Whenever a particularly dramatic event occurred, I couldn't help but think how "lucky" Burstein was that it was one of "her teens" at its center and her cameras that just happened to be there to capture it.

I scratched my head on more than one occasion that the cameras captured secretive text messages and clandestine rendezvouses that not even best friends and boyfriends were aware of. And as the five teens said their goodbyes and the film ended, I found myself curious to know what was in those 990-some hours that did not make the cut, what actually went on behind the scenes... and two years later, what those five teens thought of the unique diary of their senior year that would share their hopes, their fears, and some of their most private moments with more people than they probably ever imagined.

Lucky for me, the "American Teens" stopped in San Francisco during the movie's publicity tour, and I got the chance to talk with them. Absent for my particular leg of the tour was Hannah Bailey, the free-spirited artist who deals with severe emotional struggles, but in the end, triumphs over them to pursue her dreams (she is now attending film school in New York). Present were: Megan Krizmanich, the student council president who spends much of her senior year worrying about whether she will get into Notre Dame (now a self-described "party nerd" studying to be a doctor at that very institution); Colin Clemens, the star of his high school basketball team who faces an uncertain future if his game does not yield a scholarship offer (now a college basketball player who considers himself a "fun, easy-going guy," or as the rest of the group puts it, their token flirt); Jake Tusing, the quiet band member who spends much of his senior year trying to find a girlfriend (now "the fun-loving, socially awkward guy, who shows up to the parties and enjoys himself quietly in the corner&ellips; but not in that way"); and Mitch Reinholt, the popular heartthrob with a soft side who ends up falling for the girl on the wrong side of the social divide (now an aspiring optometrist who Megan describes as "a 40-year-old trapped in a 21-year-old's body").

Even before I stepped into the room to meet the former teens, I could see that the air around them was one filled with fun and friendship. As I watched them through the glass walls surrounding their conference room, they traded back and forth Megan's oversized California sunglasses and smiled. As we talked, they listened to each other, they laughed, and they even finished each others' thoughts. And even though it was late in the afternoon (and inching dangerously close to what I'm sure was a much needed dinner break), the vibe in the room was not only that they were having a great time, but that they were having a great time together.

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