What starts out as as a summer camp of teenage boys not taking anything seriously grows into a rousing portrait of their hopes and dreams for the future. You wouldn’t expect a documentary like this—shot like a reality TV show—to carry so much weight, but Boys State knows how to unearth the values that drive each of its incredibly well-rounded characters. So by the time these young men have assembled their mock governments and are casting their votes, it feels like the spirit of an entire generation is on the line. This is powerful, entertaining, and ultimately tear-jerking filmmaking that shows us how much work we still have to do and how much hope there still is.
""Boys State" will leave you alternately cheered and alarmed at the shape of things to come."
— Anthony Lane
"Boys State belongs to that realm of documentaries, like Spellbound and Mad Hot Ballroom and Cheer, that take their structure and draw their suspense from the competitions they chronicle."
— Alison Willmore
This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.
DGA
1 nomination
Sundance
1 win
Nat. Board of Review
1 win, 1 nomination
