New doc investigates
the mental health
of Millennials and
its relationship
to changes in
technology and
the economy
Cow Lamp Films acquired the distribution rights to producer / co-writer Nejron Zeko and director / co-writer Jordan Amandes’ documentary-feature, Quarter Life Crisis. Like Cow Lamp Films, both Zeko and Amandes are based in Chicago.
The film was sparked by the suicide of Zeko’s friend Eugene Eberly, and it investigates the root causes of rising depression, suicide, anxiety, and overdose rates amongst those born between 1982 and 2004.
Zeko comments, “I myself was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder when I was 25… When Eugene passed, I was like, wait a minute. I am not the only one going through this.”
Through interviews with psychologists, economists, marketing professionals, and Millennials, Quarter Life Crisis demonstrates the disparity between how Millennials are perceived versus Millennials’ actual lived experience.
QUARTER LIFE CRISIS | OFFICIAL TRAILER
Besides the gig economy and the introduction of the internet into every day life, the film thoroughly investigates the economic impact of inflated college tuition costs.
As of 2018, Forbes reports that Americans collectively owe 1.5 trillion dollars in student loans. According to U.S. News & World Report, annual college tuition ranges from $9,716 (public in-state college) to $35,676 (private college).
This resonated with Cow Lamp Films’ Director of Acquisitions Josh da Silva. He comments, “People used to be able to pay off college or pay for college with a summer job.”
In 2019, that would have to be one heck of a summer job.
“When I first started to research Millennials,” Zeko elaborates, “The first article I found was that Millennials have the highest suicide rate compared to any other generation.
According to Zeko, another motivator for Quarter Life Crisis was the constant barrage of criticism towards Millennials that refer to them as lazy, pampered “whiners” with too many participation trophies.
Zeko explains, “That just ticked me off because my parents never raised me like that. My friends all work two jobs. Eugene (Eberly) worked two jobs.”
Despite the personal nature of this story, Zeko and Amandes’ documentary attempts to analyze Millennials on a large, comprehensive, and objective scale.
“I want to find the truth because what they are saying does not match up with what the statistics are showing,” says Zeko.
After screening at the Royal Star Film Festival in Royal Oaks Michigan and after winning the Award Of Excellence at the 2018 Hollywood Now Film Festival, Zeko and Amandes contacted 64 distributors. Cow Lamp Films was the best fit.
As for the process of acquiring the film, da Silva states, “They reached out, and it was a relatively quick marriage… One factor is the subject matter and the film. That checked off all the right points, but working with (Zeko), we knew he was going to be a good partner for what we’re trying to do here.”
Regarding when and where Quarter Life Crisis will be available to viewers, da Silva states, “The next step is finding the right home for it. We want to make sure it gets the attention it deserves… it’s incredibly topical. It is so important.”
For more information on Cow Lamp Films, click here.
Contact Joey Filer at Joey@reelchicago.com or follow him on Twitter @FilerJoey.
