Streetwise

This documentary, based on the Life magazine article, Streets of the lost, follows nine teenagers who survive as pimps, prostitutes, muggers, panhandlers, petty thieves and small-time drug dealers on the streets of Seattle. To these resilient runaways, adept at finding bed and board, the streets offer an alternative to broken and loveless homes. The youngsters find themselves in detention centers and prisons and are seen talking to clinic doctors and social workers. Mainly, they are on their own, their actions governed by expediency. The film raises questions concerning the causes of the teenagers' lifestyle, the future of America's children, the breakdown of family integrity and the nature of a society that allows the situation to worsen.