Youth Gone Wild
SXSW2021: KID CANDIDATE (2021)
This is part of our continuing coverage of the 2021 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL
There’s something in the water in Texas that is causing the young people there to…I don’t know…give a damn? Earlier this year, the impressive documentary, Boys State, showed us an annual Texas tradition that made us both dread and revere the next generation of political leaders. The new documentary, Kid Candidate, is a much more hopeful look at the desire in young people to create change. The fact that we don’t hear more stories like this is disappointing, so when we get them, and they’re so compelling, they’re difficult to ignore. Such is Kid Candidate, directed by Jasmine Stodel - a short and sweet examination of one person, one town, one cause.
Hayden Pedigo is the star of this film, in his mid-20’s and unhappy with the way the city government of Amarillo operates. He’s a musician and amateur filmmaker and decides to start making surreal parody videos where he pretends to run for Amarillo city council. Once the videos go viral, he feels an even deeper calling to actually follow through with his formerly fictional plans and run for city council. Kid Candidate follows him on the campaign trail, getting a keen insight into his genuine motivations and his ability to speak to under-represented members of the community. This wouldn’t work if Pedigo didn’t come across as an utterly earnest and hard-working guy who just wants to do right by his community however he can.
Building out the story here are various members of the Amarillo political establishment, including the current mayor, who also comes across as someone who just wants to do good for the community, with her idea of ‘good’ differing greatly from what a lot of us would deem worthy of that particular adjective. We never see the mayor and Pedigo together, which is something I would like to have seen. The older interviewees here all talk about Pedigo as if he’s ‘just some kid’, even the ones who appear to be on his side. The belittling nature of their commentary only heightens the feeling of resistance that the older generations feel towards the younger ones
But, apart from Pedigo’s campaign, Kid Candidate digs into the very particular Amarillo political structure involving a PAC that was formed to keep incumbent politicians in power and out-spend any possible contenders. A lot of towns work this way, and it was fascinating to see it presented and explained in such a common sense way. These constructs are in place to serve a very particular class (and, ultimately, race) of people, made evident by the city’s decision to tear down a public pool in a black neighborhood because they don’t want to spend the money. As Pedigo visits with black communities - particularly the South Sudanese community - we really see how excited they are about a candidate who actually cares about their wants.
This doc works on several levels. If you’re a fan of the surreal, lo-fi videos that Pedigo has been making, you get all of that and a bag of chips. But it also works as a political doc, a doc about the energy and determination of youth, and as a doc about social progress. It doesn’t jump to various tangents; it stays on message and streamlines its message in a really appealing way. It doesn’t take any risks with the form, but what it does do is trust in the rebellious nature of the campaign it’s covering. Kid Candidate is a nice companion piece to Boys State and offers some hope that our political scene is changing on the local level, which is necessary to change on a national level. It made me wish I was 24 so I could run for public office.
Kid Candidate is a Gunpowder & Sky production in association with XTR.
3.5 out of 5 stars