Director Michael Apted’s documentary 56 Up premieres as an installment of PBS’ POV film series on Monday, Oct. 14, at 10pm ET (check local listings).
In 1964, the documentary Seven Up! studied contemporary British society by asking 7-year-olds from different backgrounds about their lives and hopes for the future. Every seven years since, director Michael Apted’s Up film series revisited members of the group, revealing how the “kids” have fared through the stages of life and how their perspectives evolved. Now at age 56, the group members face the personal, health and career challenges of middle age. But Apted found the latest installment, 56 Up, to be surprisingly optimistic. “I thought this film would be depressing,” Apted says. “I thought people would be very concerned, you know, with mortality and whatever and stuff like that. But it turned out sort of differently in a way that was completely unexpected to me.” POV: 56 Up premieres on PBS Monday, Oct. 14, at 10pm ET (check local listings).
Photo: Credit: Courtesy of First Run Features