If the November 2008 election wasn’t enough evidence of America's politically active youth, Jason Pollock’s documentary “The Youngest Candidate” is proof American teenagers are not afraid to take a stand and make a difference in their communities.

The feature-length, non-partisan film was written and directed by the 27-year-old filmmaker, who has worked closely with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore.

Pollock’s film will be screened tonight at 7 p.m. at The Michigan Theater, and Pollock will speak after the showing.

Pollock assisted Moore in the creation of “Fahrenheit 9/11” and accompanied him on "Slacker Uprising" — a tour through 60 cities across the country to encourage voter participation for the 2004 presidential election.

After working on "Slacker Uprising," Pollock said in an interview with The Michigan Daily that he “was really inspired to get young people to vote in the 2008 November election.”

That experience is what Pollock said generated the idea for “The Youngest Candidate,” which follows the campaigns of four teenagers who ran for public office in November 2008.

After three years of research, Pollock found about 50 teenage politicians who were successfully elected to office.

He said the major reason so few teenagers run for office is that most people don’t know they can run.

When choosing the characters for his film, Pollock said he searched for “funny and exciting and interesting characters … that were cool, successful and witty.”

The four teenagers — Ytit Chauhan, George Monger, Raul De Jesus and Tiffany Tupper — were all between the ages of 18 and 20. Running in mayoral, city council and school board elections, Pollock said the young candidates were exactly what he was looking for.

“I think my characters are all little Obamas,” Pollock said and added he wanted to “find kids who were doing this outside the box.”

Pollock said part of what make his characters so awe-inspiring is that they “know what it means to have to sacrifice in their lives.”

While none of the four teenagers won seats in their prospective elections, Pollock said they have all become public figures in their communities and will continue to take advantage of their growing public influence.

He said the teenagers’ campaigns have encouraged their fellow contemporaries to run for public office.

“This is going to be a huge movement in America,” Pollock said. “It’s happening on a small scale now, but it will happen on a large scale eventually.”

Pollock added that “it’s not just a movie, it’s a movement in America.”

Besides creating “The Youngest Candidate,” Pollock is also heavily involved in his non-profit, non-partisan organization called The Youngest Candidate, which is based in Ann Arbor.

“We wanted to start a Rock the Vote kind of thing where you see other teenagers running for office, and you can support local campaigns and just get involved in civics in some way,” Pollock said.

Pollock plans to use his film as a way to draw attention to his non-profit organization.

Pollock and his team have developed a committee to encourage youth candidates and political activism at Michigan State University. The filmmaker said he plans to start more committees — including one at the University of Michigan — as he travels across the country for screenings of his film.

He said the film “is entertaining and has rock music … and is more accessible to kids who would normally be turned off by something political.”

For more information on the documentary and the non-profit organization, check out www.TheYoungestCandidate.com.