This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Director Michael Apted has allowed moviegoers to watch children grow up into adulthood, in seven-year increments, in the acclaimed "Up" series.
In "American Promise," debuting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson do something similar — encapsulating 13 years in the lives of two children, from kindergarten through 12th grade, in a single movie.
Brewster and Stephenson follow their own son, Idris, enrolled at age 5 in The Dalton School, an elite prep school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. They also follow Idris' best friend Seun, as they chronicle the lives of both boys — and their families — all the way through to high-school graduation.
"American Promise" debuts in the U.S. documentary competition of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.