You Were My First Boyfriend – Hot Docs 2023

A woman recreates the memories from her adolescence in You Were My First Boyfriend. After attending her high school reunion, filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo became interested in recreating her memories from her teenage years in the 1990s. Cecilia stars in various recreations from her adolescence by hiring actors to play her teenage friends and classmates. This includes dancing with her crush Joel at homecoming, hanging out with her best friend, Caroline, and reconciling the bullying experienced by her classmate Joanne.

You Were My First Boyfriend Synopsis

You Were My First Boyfriend is a hybrid documentary directed by Cecilia Aldarondo and Sarah Enid Hagey. The film sees the middle-aged Cecilia recreating her various memories from her adolescence. In addition to recreating specific events from her 1990s teenage years, Cecilia also stars in recreations of her favourite pop culture moments, such as a prominent moment from My So Called Life or starring with her sister Laura in a recreation of Tori Amos' music video for her 1992 song “Crucify.”

My Thoughts on You Were My First Boyfriend

At first glance, You Were My First Boyfriend is a quirky hybrid documentary with the very ridiculous sight of a full-grown woman recreating moments from her teenage years. However, there comes a point in the film where Cecilia Aldarondo starts tacking serious issues, such as her personal body image issues or regret about not reconnecting with an old friend before it was too late. The end result is that You Were My First Boyfriend is a film about healing disguised as a teen movie.