The director of a new film about the youth vote has some advice for presidential candidates about what not to do when they seek to appeal to his peers.

In an interview with the Village Voice, 19-year-old David Burstein says it is a real turn off when candidates pander to his generation by doing things like saying they like Beyonce or wearing their hats backwards. They also shouldn’t show up on college campuses and talk about lowering the drinking age, he says.

“I think sometimes these candidates don’t really know how to reach out to young people, so they have an advisor who tells them this is how you reach out to young people,” says Mr. Burstein, whose movie “18 in ’08” examines America’s youth vote, what young voters are looking for in candidates, and how politicians can motivate his peers to the polls.

Instead, the filmmaker says, young people want to hear about the bigger issues, like the war in Iraq, health care, and the economy.

“Young people just want to be talked to like they’re any other voter, and I think when politicians try and say, ‘Hey, I’m really cool,’ I think it does offend young people’s intelligence and sense of participation,” he adds. “I think that, in many ways, can turn people off because they feel like they’re not being treated like a legitimate, responsible voter.”