Indy Film Fest: The Changemakers of Generation Z

A California family spends more than a year traveling the country looking for kids and teens making big changes in their communities in this warm-hearted documentary.

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The Webb family was inspired by tales of kids making a huge difference in their communities. So they came up with a very simple idea: spend more than a year traveling around the U.S. talking to these youngsters to find out how they did it, and inspire others to do the same.

That’s the premise of the documentary “The Changemakers of Generation Z,” an hour-long ridealong with the Webbs on the ultimate road trip. It’s an engaging and warm-hearted glimpse of the the generation that will lead the way — sooner than you think.

If you’ve felt depressed about the state of the world or tempted to deride young people for not living up to their highest potential, this movie is a shot of pure hope.

The Webbs are mom Eva, dad Matt, and kids Evie, Jaq and Solveig, with the children ranging in age from about 8 to 11. They’re old enough to dream about futures, and young enough to embrace those challenges without any tinge of adult pessimism.

After spending months planning raising money for their endeavor, the Webbs give away their home and most possessions to help cement their resolve. Things get off to a poor start when they buy an old Blue Bird bus that has been converted into an RV, but it soon breaks down.

Shifting gears to a van and trailer camper, they get off to a start looking at the issue of homelessness. It’s something kids experience in numbers much higher than most people would guess. But there are kids out there raising money and awareness, including making sure children who don’t have a place to live at least have good shoes and socks on their feet.

One young person is teaching children about technology through mini “hacker kits” — basically a working computer in what looks like an old-timey wood box like a phone from a century ago. There’s a Native American warrior projects, food banks, civil rights organizers and even a pen pal program for lonely senior citizens in Japan.

In Alaska, high suicide rates are combatted and in the heartland, a girl hosts her own YouTube cooking channel to promote healthy school lunches.

One of the most affecting people the Webbs interview is a young man who experienced abuse as a child and eventually found a home in foster care, and now runs a program called No Use for Abuse.

These children and teens run recyling programs that raise money for children with cleft palates to have corrective surgery, while others drill wells in places without enough clean drinking water. They help build houses, reunite familes and raise hope.

The Webbs don’t spend as much time training the camera on themselves as I would like, though we get glimpses of what 14 months on the road is like. At one point funds run low and the parents have to ask to borrow money from the children to fill their gas tank and bellies. One child suffers a spill and gets a trip to the hospital — and a cast.

“The Changemakers of Generation Z” is still a fantastic story about a generation already getting a worse rap than the Millenials did. The truth no one seems to acknowledge that every group of young people at some point finds themselves derided and devalued by those older, and when they get to be the elders they’ll do the same thing.

This film is a reminder to have some perspective, and look for reasons to praise Gen Z — because there’s plenty of deserving reasons.