Gen Youth 2025 I A documentary series made for and by Gen Z.

studios I documentary I Gen Youth 2025

  • Gen Youth 2025 follows three teenagers in their final year in high school, as they challenge and explore their own values within an experimental audiovisual framework.

  • A balanced blend of documentary and fiction that shortens the dramatic arcs and gives the format a younger, more dynamic feel.


    Themes such as a young person's grieving process, practicing a craft, and the underrepresentation of women in one character’s dream profession form the underlying layer of this format.


    It is presented as a short-format online, as well as a single long-form documentary version.


    Target audience: 15-20 years old.

  • Independent release online and in theaters as a single long-form documentary.

    Online video’s available from januari 2 2026.

    Via TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

  • Director:
    Grimm Merckaert

    Cast:
    Yuna Yvergneuax
    Juul De Baets
    Oberon Dhaene

    DOP:
    Arthur Moelants
    Cies Albert

    Production:
    Geoffrey Detant

    Crew:
    Ina Vandercammen
    Anna Van Zundert
    Mathijs Deheegher
    Jules Van Herp

    Special thanks:
    Sint-Fransiscusinstituut
    Specialized
    De Ronde van Vlaanderen (Flanders Classics)
    Politie Geraardsbergen
    Ice Mountain
    Stad Geraardsbergen
    Stad Brakel

This documentary format follows the structure of an opera;  beginning with an overture, followed by character-driven arias, and culminating in a powerful finale.

Each episode features multiple interview sessions set within a visually stylized environment, staged arena. From this central setting, we reflect on past events and look ahead, using self-recorded home videos made by the young protagonists themselves. These are interwoven with intimate, one-on-one documentary moments involving or filmed by the creator. The narrative unfolds over the course of a full year.

To keep the pace dynamic and engaging, especially for a younger audience, we regularly break the rhythm with surreal, fictional scenes. These imaginative moments represent the characters’ visions and dreams, yet are always grounded in their real-life experiences.

This unique blend of structure and style, combining staged elements, documentary authenticity, and fictional detours, forms the heart of the format and acts as its hook, drawing viewers in and keeping them emotionally and visually engaged.

Studio
Documentary (series)

Collaboration
-

Status
Release - 2 januari 2026

Focus
Information sharing, building trust

Country
Belgium

About
Teenagers and insecurities regarding studying.

Release
Online I Cinema