Following Sean (2006): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2006, Following Sean is a documentary film directed by Ralph Arlyck, running about 87 minutes.

What it’s about. Filmmaker Ralph Arlyck first met Sean while living as a graduate student in Haight Ashbury at the height of the 1960s. The city was awash with the trappings of America’s cultural revolution-the San Francisco State University campus flooded with cops in riot gear, the Haight filled with drifters and idealists, and, on the third floor of Arlyck’s building, a come-one-come-all crashpad apartment. It was from this top floor commune that the precocious 4-year-old Sean would occasionally wander downstairs to visit and talk-and one day Arlyck turned on his camera. Sean’s casual commentary on everything from smoking pot to living with speed freaks was delivered in simple sincerity throughout the soon-to-be famous 15-minute film. This First Child of the notorious decade may have shaken the audience with his simple sentence- “Sure, I smoke pot”-but it was his barefoot impishness which would encapsulate the hope that lay in front of the nation: a promise of infinite possibility.

Who’s in it. Following Sean stars Ralph Arlyck as Narrator (voice) and Sean Farrell as Himself.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.1/10, Following Sean has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Fandor Amazon Channel and rent or buy it from Amazon Video. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Following Sean page.

If you liked it. Fans of Following Sean tend to enjoy One Direction: This Is Us, Burn the Stage: The Movie, BTS World Tour: Love Yourself - Japan Edition and Senna.