Which 2018 independent film is the directorial debut of Bo Burnham?

Which 2018 independent film is the directorial debut of Bo Burnham? The answer is Eighth Grade.

Eighth Grade is Bo Burnham’s first feature-film directing project. He also wrote the screenplay, drawing on his own experiences with anxiety and the pressure of performing. The film follows Kayla Day, played by Elsie Fisher, during the final week of eighth grade as she navigates social anxiety, changing friendships, family expectations, and the carefully edited image she presents online.

Kayla records motivational video blogs and posts them to social media, even though she feels isolated and uncomfortable in many real-life situations. That contrast gives the film its central tension: she can sound confident while speaking to an unseen internet audience but struggle to communicate at school or with her father. Burnham’s direction uses close framing, phone screens, and uncomfortable pauses to make adolescence feel immediate rather than nostalgic.

The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was released by A24. It received wide critical acclaim, while Fisher earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Eighth Grade is sometimes confused with Lady Bird or The Edge of Seventeen, which also focus on teenage girls, but Burnham’s film is specifically his feature directorial debut and centers on the social-media era.