SYNOPSIS

54 minutes | No Excuses Productions | DVD | VHS | order now

Maggie, Ari and Tishaun, three ethnically diverse teenagers from Montana, San Francisco and Baltimore- find their lives abruptly altered by the impact of sexual decision. How each girl subsequently deals with the consequences gives an up-close-and-personal look at teenage life: peer pressure, parents, relationships, sexuality, pregnancy and HIV/AIDS.

As the film unfolds, each girl generously shares her own intimate story. Ari, a Chinese-African American, chooses an older man hoping to find the attention and love she didn’t feel she got from her family. Maggie, a Caucasian from rural Montana has an affair with a soldier during a drinking binge and Tishaun, an African American from Baltimore confirms feelings that she is gay and has relations with friends. None practices safer sex. Ari is shocked to find out that she tests positive for HIV, Maggie becomes pregnant and Tishaun, relieved to test negative for all STDs, begins to practice safer sex. Ari and Maggie educate themselves about AIDS and safer sex and begin speaking to teens in schools. Tishaun becomes active in the Gay Student Alliance. The girl’s stories plumb both the euphoria and the catastrophe of adolescent decision-making and ultimately find survival on the other side.