The Teen Years

The Teen Years covers the growth of the character Harry born at the end of Safe Motherhood and who grew up to five years old in Child's Play. In The Teen Years, Harry reaches puberty developing his own set of life-skills, and finishes the film with his first serious relationship with a girl. The film touches on several issues relevant to young people in the Caribbean, including parenting; peer pressure; violence; awareness of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse, and ends with Harry contemplating the responsibility of his first sexual relationship. The story is narrated in Harry's own words and the film is accompanied by a teachers guide which voices the view of Harry's parents. The teacher is then left to lead discussions of the life-skills Harry and all young people will require as they take their place in society.

As with the first two productions, focus group discussions were used to develop the storyboard to reflect the issues and the ambiance of teenage life in the Caribbean. The fact that the main character Harry is a boy fits in with UNICEF concern for the marginalization of the male child in the Caribbean. Without making reference to any of the specific issues such as drugs and AIDS, the film attempts to stimulate discussion on the subject of relevant life skills. The storyboard for this film was the most difficult to design, since the target audience was identified as the most critical and discriminating of TV culture, as well as being alienated from conventional teaching methods. The same creative process was followed, seeking guidance from teenagers themselves to make this production more visual and to contain a strong musical soundtrack rather than a narrative style.

The Teen Years completes the cycle of the three production set, returning to the starting point for the film Safe Motherhood.

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