Thirteen

Prolific production designer and art director Catherine Hardwicke makes her directorial debut with the coming-of-age drama Thirteen . Los Angeles teenager and overachiever Tracy ( Evan Rachel Wood ) is an excellent student in her seventh grade class and gets along well with her mother, Melanie ( Holly Hunter ). She fears that she's not cool enough to be friends with Evie ( Nikki Reed ), the most popular girl in school. Fueled with genuine adolescent energy, Tracy follows Evie's lead into the harsh realities of sex, drugs, and hard-edged adventure. Consumed with temptations and conflicting desires, Tracy loses her good-girl identity, greatly affecting her relationship with her mom. Partly autobiographical, Thirteen was co-written by Hardwicke and actual 13-year-old Reed , who are close family friends. Originally intending to write a teen comedy, they ended up creating a hard-hitting drama exposing the contemporary teenage experience. Thirteen was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival , with Catherine Hardwicke taking home the Director's Award. — Andrea LeVasseur