ROCKLAND—The last time we met Cecile Bizet, 16, she was standing behind the gelato case of Gelato Rose, an artisanal shop she co-owns with her mother Annie Higbee in downtown Rockland. (See our original story here)

Like pretty much everyone her age, she’s on social media, but not just for fun. She runs a YouTube channel with more than 3,500 subscribers and stays active on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. She uses the platforms to keep a steady flow of content, offering her perspectives on fashion, travel and creative lifestyle.

She is now turning the camera around for a new video series called WE ARE HUMAN. The project explores the common thread that connects us all and is executed through a series of cinematic interviews. As a teenager growing up in one of the most divisive periods in history, Cecile observes that many kids are trying to discover what sets them apart and makes them unique, using social media to deliver the message. However, her main question is "What makes us all the same?"

Sitting on a bench in Rockland's Buoy Park an hour before she is set to open the gelato shop, she told me where this idea came from.

“For the last three years, I’ve been attending Playlist Live, a YouTube convention in Orlando, Florida,” she said. “It’s an awesome opportunity to meet other YouTube content creators. This past year, I realized after meeting a couple of people, that I had started to form these judgments about them. For some, it seemed that the only reason they were attending the event was to gain more popularity on their social media platforms. This had a huge emotional effect on me because I couldn't understand how some people could be so inauthentic. In my head was scolding myself, saying ‘You shouldn’t judge them. They’re probably great people; you just haven’t gotten to know them.’”

The realization that every person has something more to show than just their outer persona inspired Cecile to start her project. The questions she was planning to ask each person evoked more than just casual conversation. She wanted people to feel comfortable and share their raw inner dialogue.

Finding time around her school schedule, Cecile conducted her first season of We Are Human, starting with her inner circle. The 5-7 minute format aims to show the real person behind the persona we all curate and cultivate on social media and sometimes throughout our daily lives.  

“I’m open to interviewing as many people as possible across all ages, sexual preferences, and race,” she said. “I want to get their story out there so that others may realize they’re not alone.”

The power of film and turning it into a documentary-style format occurred for her when she was a middle school student at Riley School in Rockport.

“We had an unbelievable film teacher, Morgan Kirkham, who taught me how to compose, edit and produce an interview,” she said. “When I was 12, I did a video interview of Glenna Plaisted, the founder of Riley School. She was the most amazing woman. I learned how to listen and how to make people feel comfortable, as well as the power that documentary style film can have. A year after I did that interview, Glenna passed away and that video is the only documentation we have of her in her last years.”

Stay tuned as Penobscot Bay Pilot will be publishing Cecile’s We Are Human series with her commentary behind the videos.

Hail To The Rad Kids is a feature that highlights teens with artistic or musical talent.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com