Think Heathers or Alexander Payne's Election to conjure a picture of Marcos Siega's Pretty Persuasion. But don't go thinking this is a derivative, formulaic teen genre flick. It is a deliciously dark look at manipulative middle-class kids, celebrity culture and the power of media, and it shoots a few sacred cows along the way.

Precocious Kimberly Joyce (Evan Rachel Wood) attends an exclusive high school in Beverly Hills. She has aspirations of celebrity, as well as the will and tactics to get herself known. Kimberly, with buddy Brittany, conducts an orientation tour for the new girl on campus, introducing her to Kimberly's world of deception, manipulation and malignant selfishness. The three cook up a plan to kick-start Kimberly's career; they slap a sexual harassment suit on the sleazy English teacher, and this is where the fun really starts...

"Consummately crafted, with great performances... Pretty Persuasion is filmmaking that transcends genre and makes us laugh and think and perhaps even revel in the pleasures and puzzles of growing up in this wondrous world of media-defined reality." - Sundance Film Festival