Filmed over the Australian summer break – between the end of high school and the start of a new year – EIGHTEEN acts as a time capsule, documenting various eighteen-year-olds and high school graduates at this specific moment in their lives. Commissioned by Trust and directed by Lucy Knox, the film blends striking visuals and personal reflections to capture the collective hopes, dreams, and fears of a generation stepping into adulthood.

Set against the backdrop of an increasingly complex world – where the pressures of social media, climate change, and an uncertain future loom large – EIGHTEEN provides both a snapshot of cultural history and a glimpse into the personal and shared struggles inherent when coming of age in a world of unknowns.

Director’s Vision for ‘Eighteen’

I’d been shooting some commercials with a lot of exacting pre-production, storyboards, pre-visualisation etc; where you almost know exactly what is going to be in the final work at each timecode, before you even film it. So I was hungry for the challenge of a project that was more reactionary and documentary. I wanted a project that forced me to be finding and creating the story, in the moment, on my feet.

Around the same time I went to my cousin’s eighteenth birthday, which felt momentous, having known him since he was so young. Talking to his friends made me see that this generation faces such a different world than I did at eighteen. It feels like the world has accelerated so rapidly in their lifetime, it’s hard to deny how the escalating omnipresence of social media and technology has impacted them. Social media was in its infancy when I was that age – it wasn’t an extension of everyday life like it is for young people today – I can’t imagine how I would’ve coped with it. So I wanted to create a time capsule documentary that captured what life is like for eighteen year olds right now.