AllMovie

Narrative filmmaker Darren Stein teamed up with childhood friend Adam Shell to make the intimate documentary Put the Camera on Me. Using home-video footage, follow-up interviews, and reflective commentary, the film explores the psychological and humorous implications of a child's use of a video camera to express themselves. As a kid in the Southern California suburbs during the early '80s, Stein made more than 100 movies using neighborhood pals as his actors. The homemade amateur movies ranged from horror to war to musicals to erotic dramas, some of which suggested serious adult issues. Put the Camera on Me was screened at the 2003 San Francisco Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.