There is a lot of joy on display in director Ayden Mayeri‘s documentary “Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story,” a film that on paper sounds like it could be nothing more than a niche curiosity, but turns out to be a really charming and surprisingly funny look at friendship, creativity, and the weird ways the internet can resurrect the past.
The film follows four pre-teen friends who formed a band called X-Cetra during the summer of 2000. These girls recorded their own homemade album, burning it onto a handful of CD-Rs like so many kids experimenting with creativity at the turn of the millennium. Then, like a lot of childhood projects, it faded away. Life happened in the form of boys, petty teenage mischief, and growing up. You know, the usual stuff.
Fast forward twenty years and somehow those recordings end up online. What starts as a small cult following among outsider music fans snowballs into something incredibly bigger. Record labels take notice, artists start sampling it, and suddenly the long forgotten project becomes the subject of a piece in Rolling Stone. Not bad for a bunch of middle schoolers with a CD burner, right?
What makes the documentary work so well is how personal it feels. It’s built from interviews, casual conversations, and tons of old home videos, diaries, and recordings from the girls themselves. You get to see both the adult versions of these women and their kid selves at the same time, which is honestly delightful. Their childhood personalities are so earnest and goofy that it’s impossible not to root for them.
The vibe of the film is super laid back, almost like hanging out with friends while they tell stories and dig through old boxes of memories. That casual style really fits the subject. The documentary is not overly polished or slick, which makes it feel even more genuine. At the same time, the documentary is definitely on the long side and probably could’ve used a bit of trimming. Mayeri (understandably) includes a lot of unnecessary content, which turns into stretches where you feel the runtime.
But the heart of the story comes from these women reconnecting years later and deciding to make music together again, and it’s genuinely sweet. Watching them try to recapture some of that carefree creative energy they had as kids is both nostalgic and moving. It’s less about chasing fame and more about rediscovering the friendship and joy that started the whole thing.
By the end, “Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story” succeeds as a warm time capsule that’s funny, nostalgic, and full of personality. The idea that a random childhood project could sit dormant for two decades and then come back to life on vinyl is just the kind of weird, wonderful story the internet occasionally gives us.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 