The Documentary
About Possible Selves
A documentary about foster care, overcoming the odds, and the power of caring adults.
The Story
Possible Selves is a feature-length documentary that follows two brave teenagers in foster care — Alex and Mia — through their tumultuous high school years and into college. It is the first major documentary to focus on the lived experience of current foster youth themselves.
The film intimately shares their journeys as they strive to attain a goal that only 3% of adults who grow up in foster care ever reach: graduating from college.
We meet a 14-year-old Alex as he enters a new foster home, dreaming of college and a career in music — while grappling with the fundamental uncertainty of foster care.
We meet Mia on the eve of college, a survivor of severe abuse who finds strength in her supportive foster family as past trauma resurfaces.
While Alex and Mia's gripping stories anchor the film, we also meet Alyssa, who lives in a group home; Selvin, who has been incarcerated; and Justin, whose poetry transforms trauma into inner strength.
About Kern Bridges Youth Homes
Serving California's Most Vulnerable Youth
Of the 40,000+ children in foster care in California, Kern Bridges Youth Homes (KBYH) takes in some of the most complex and high-needs foster youth from all over the state. KBYH's Short Term Residential Treatment Programs are home to youth who have experienced multiple placement disruptions, significant trauma, and behavioral or mental health challenges that make traditional foster placements difficult to sustain. Many of the youth served have struggled to find stability elsewhere, often entering care after repeated system involvement and crises.
Kern Bridges Youth Homes provides a safe, structured environment for some of the most vulnerable youth in California — young people who have experienced significant trauma and need stability to begin healing. That stability starts with the physical spaces they live in every day. Clean, well-maintained homes, safe outdoor areas, functional common spaces, and secure facilities are not luxuries; they are essential to creating an environment where youth can feel protected and begin to thrive.
Maintaining these facilities, however, is a very expensive endeavor. Ongoing repairs, safety upgrades, utilities, furnishings, and compliance with strict state standards all require consistent investment, and public funding falls short of covering these real-world costs. Without additional support, it isn't possible to sustain the safe, therapeutic environments these youth depend on and deserve.
Your Support Will Fund
Updating residential treatment program outdoor play equipment, installing swimming pool, and outfitting outdoor patio space
Replacing vehicles necessary to transport youth to important appointments and to see family throughout the state
Ongoing facility maintenance and upgrades to provide a safe, welcoming and comfortable environment for the youth in our care
The Filmmaker
Shaun Kadlec
Shaun Kadlec is an award-winning documentary filmmaker — and a proud product of Bakersfield, CA. His connection to this community makes the Gala Screening on August 29th an especially meaningful homecoming.
Kadlec spent years with Alex and Mia to capture an unflinching portrait of foster youth rarely seen on screen. The filming required special permission from an LA County Children's Court judge — a rare grant of access that underscores the project's integrity and purpose.
Shaun will be present at the Gala for a live Q&A following the screening, joined by stars Alex Ballantyne and Mia Derisso, and Kern Bridges Youth Homes CEO Jim VanderZwan.
Learn More About the Documentary →Local Impact
Foster Youth in Kern County
The issues explored in Possible Selves are not distant — they are happening in our backyard. Kern County's foster youth face the same systemic challenges documented in the film, and Kern Bridges Youth Homes exists to change that trajectory.
Kern Bridges Youth Homes (KBYH) provides housing, mentorship, and life-skills programming to transition-age foster youth, helping them find stability and community when the system can no longer hold them.
Learn More About Kern Bridges Youth Homes →★
Emmy Award
2025 Los Angeles Area Emmy Award
Independent Programming
Possible Selves was recognized by the Television Academy with the 2025 LA Area Emmy Award for Independent Programming — a testament to the film's exceptional craft and profound social impact. It has been broadcast on PBS affiliates across the country and screened at festivals including Newport Beach, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, and Wild Rivers Film Festival.
The Message
What the Film Teaches Us
The most important lesson from this filmmaking process: children need reliable, caring adults in their lives. The statistics are stark evidence that the foster care system needs reform — but this film shows how a stronger commitment to caring for real children, even within a broken system, can dramatically improve lives.
Join Us August 29th