Eighth Grade (film)

Eighth Grade is a 2018 American independent coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Bo Burnham in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Elsie Fisher as Kayla, a teenager attending middle school who struggles with anxiety but strives to gain social acceptance from her peers during their final week of eighth grade. She copes by publishing vlogs as a self-styled motivational guru but spends much of her time obsessing over social media, frustrating her otherwise supportive father Mark (Josh Hamilton), whom she alienates despite his wish to be present in her life as her sole parent.

Burnham began writing the screenplay in 2014, initially in an attempt to reflect on his own anxiety and onstage panic attacks he experienced during his career in stand-up comedy. Deciding to convey his experience through Kayla, he also wanted to explore how her generation copes with mental illness, grows up with the presence of social media, navigates sexuality and consent, relates to their parents and develops their sense of self. Burnham aimed for realism, casting actual eighth graders—including lead actor Fisher—who informed his script and directing. For research, he watched vlogs from teenagers on YouTube, where he also discovered Fisher. On a budget of $2 million, production took place in 2017 in Suffern, New York.

Eighth Grade premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2018. It was later given wide theatrical release in the United States by A24 on July 13, 2018. Instead of appealing the Motion Picture Association of America's R (Restricted) rating of the film, A24 and Burnham arranged free all-ages theatrical screenings in every U.S. state to let their young intended audience see it.

Upon release, the film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $13.5 million domestically, and receiving critical acclaim. The filmmakers won many awards and nominations, with Burnham winning both Writers Guild and Directors Guild of America Awards, and Fisher nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress and winning the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Actor. At year's end, the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute each chose Eighth Grade as one of the 10 best films of 2018, with the former also naming it the year's best directorial debut.