In a tale akin to “Romeo and Juliet,” the strong bond between two children is threatened by their parents’ differences. Malú is from an upper-class family and her single mother does not want her to play with Jorgito, as she thinks his background coarse and commonplace. Jorgito’s mother, a poor Socialist, proud of her family’s social standing, places similar restrictions on her son. When the children learn that Malú’s mother is planning to leave Cuba, they decide to travel to the other side of the island to find Malú’s father and persuade him against signing the forms that would allow it.
Over the course of a year, this witty documentary follows two urban, multiracial 11-year-olds as they explore their place in the food chain. Sadie and Safiyah talk to storekeepers, farmers, food activists, farmers to learn more about the origin of the food they eat, how it’s cultivated and how far it travels from farm to fork. The girls formulate sophisticated and compassionate opinions about urban sustainability, and by doing so inspire hope and active engagement.
Jojo, a lively 10-year-old with a difficult home life marked by a volatile father and an absent mother, finds solace in an abandoned baby jackdaw (“kauw” in Dutch). Through the special friendship he builds with the bird, the bond between Jojo and his father will be strengthened or broken. That it sometimes takes one death to accept another could be one of several messages this sensitive, but at times challenging, film has to offer.
REVIEWS:
“In a field dominated by many ambitious and weighty films, the Dutch submission for this year’s foreign language Oscar is appealing for its modesty… The film rests on the two splendid performances at the center. (JoJo) Rick Lens has to hold our attention for every minute of the film, a feat that he accomplishes effortlessly. The actor is completely convincing in his moments of joyous abandon as well as others of frustration and rage. He’s endearing without ever turning cloying, and this is surely a tribute to the skill of director Boudewijn Koole. Loek Peters is equally compelling as Jojo’s rather helpless father. The moments when Peters’ character responds to Jojo with brutality are disturbing, but we always understand the anguish that underlies the character’s anger.” – The Hollywood Reporter (12/7/12)
“Gabriel” is a story of friendship and teenage dilemmas, with a touch of both mystery and comedy. A family tragedy left 12-year-old Tomek living with his grandparents from infancy. His desire to meet his father inspires a road trip full of dangerous adventures. A mysterious friend (Gabriel) with impeccable timing keeps the journey alive. The closer Tomek gets to his father, the closer he discovers the secret of Gabriel.
The fifth-grade chorus of PS22 on Staten Island, N.Y., became a YouTube sensation when their teacher started posting videos of them singing. Their rousing renditions of pop songs soon earned them a national legion of fans, as well as the attention of Academy Awards producers. This joyous documentary follows the talented and diverse group of kids and their energetic instructor, as together they tackle creative differences, lost voices, and homesickness on their way to appearing in the finale of the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony. The transformative power of music shines throughout.
This fascinating documentary charts the adventure of Laura Dekker, a 14-year-old Dutch sailor, who set out alone on a two-year voyage to fulfill her dream of becoming the youngest person ever to sail around the world. The journey was not without controversy, but “Maidentrip” is pleasantly free from the hysteria that surrounded Laura for more than a year. It presents her trip in a judgment-free manner. It neither suggests (as it understandably could) that 14 is an alarmingly young age to traverse the mightily unforgiving Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, nor takes a blindly positive “Ra! Ra! Go Laura!” position (as would be tempting, given that Laura proves herself an admirable rebel in many ways).
Laura is portrayed as an independent outsider, at once open-hearted, enviably confident and a bit prickly, sick of what she sees as daily life in Holland—which she sums up succinctly: “Get money, get a house, get a husband, get a baby, then die.” She pines for a truly outsized adventure. While other young record-holding sailors completed the round-world trip without lengthy stops at ports, Laura gives herself two years for the excursion, so that she can soak in the land-bound culture of the different climes where she alights (among them French Polynesia, Australia, the Galapagos Islands and South Africa). Low-key yet lyrical, “Maidentrip” illustrates in vivid colors the mundane as well as the magnificent moments at sea and underscores the courage of one young woman, battling the elements—and the courts—and enjoying every minute of it.
Set against the backdrop of the wolf reintroduction program in Yellowstone National Park, “Druid Peak” is a coming of age story about a troubled teenage boy who finds a home tracking wolves in the wildlands of Wyoming.
Sixteen-year-old Owen isn’t just rebellious—he’s a bully with a mean streak. Growing up in coal country West Virginia, he struggles against the claustrophobia of small town life, lashing out against school and family. But when his actions lead to the death of a friend, Owen is sent to live with his estranged father, Everett, a biologist on Yellowstone’s wolf reintroduction program.
At first, Owen wants no part of this new life. Then he comes face to face with a Canadian grey wolf. The creature’s deep, penetrating gaze startles him, stirring something long dead inside his own self. Sensing the first signs of change in his son, Everett encourages Owen to collect some basic data about the wolf he saw and its family pack–the Druid Peak pack. Owen’s small assignment grows into a passion and his own life becomes deeply tied to the Druid Peak wolves and their struggle for survival. When a change in government policy threatens the animals, Owen must decide how far he will go to protect the wolves, his father and the place he has finally come to call home. A coming-of-age story with a conservation twist, Druid Peak is a film about the human soul’s need for wild things, and the challenges of holding onto them.
Writer/director Marni Zelnick was awarded a $100,000 production grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for work on this film. Shot on location in West Virginia, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Utah, “Druid Peak” stars Spencer Treat Clark (“Mystic River,” “Gladiator”), Andrew Wilson (“Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums”), Rachel Korine (“Spring Breakers,” “Septien”) and the wolves of Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife (“White Fang,” “Into the Wild”).
Misfit German teenager Mika is sent to live in the country with her stern grandmother, who happens to have been an Olympic equestrian. One of her grandmother’s horses, Windstorm, is just as unhappy with the world around him as Mika is with hers. Together, they find a sense of happiness that gets them through several über-dramatic ordeals. It will be difficult not to get drawn into this tale that is part “Horse Whisperer” and part “Karate Kid,” with a pinch of “National Velvet.”
The 12-year-old son of the world’s greatest detective embarks on a rollicking adventure to solve the mystery of his long-lost mother’s true identity in this family-friendly, action-packed film. Growing up without knowledge of his mother’s mysterious fate leads Nono, on the eve of his bar mitzvah, on the most significant investigation of his life. “The Zigzag Kid” uses wit and humor to explore the sometimes complicated relationships between right and wrong, and how these inform love and loyalty—in a modern, beautifully filmed tale that speaks frankly to both adults and tweens. Plus, a family film that features Isabella Rosselini!
Played at 2014 PCFF to celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of Japan’s masterpieces of animation.
One of the most endearing and internationally renowned films of all time, a film that Roger Ebert called “one of the five best movies” ever made for children, “My Neighbor Totoro” is a deceptively simple tale of Satsuki and Mei, two young girls who move with their father to the countryside while their mother convalesces in a nearby hospital. They soon discover that the surrounding forests are home to a family of Totoros, gentle but powerful creatures who live in a huge and ancient camphor tree and are seen only by children. Based on Miyazaki’s own childhood imaginings, Totoros look like oversized pandas with bunny ears, the largest of which takes the girls on spinning-top rides through the tree tops, introduces them to a furry, multi-pawed Catbus—a nod to Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat—and ultimately brings the two much closer together as sisters.
Beneath the film’s playfulness and narrative simplicity lie depths of wisdom. As with much of Miyazaki’s work, at its core “My Neighbor Totoro” is about humankind’s relationship to the Earth. The film is infused with an almost spiritual reverence for the power of nature (a philosophy tied to the ancient Shinto belief that every object in nature has a soul). Everything that surrounds us, from light-dappled tree groves, to the marvelous clouds, echoes the density and lusciousness of life. Protected by the Totoros, we know no harm will come to our two heroines in the forest’s sunlit glades and mysterious shadows. The girls may be awed by the power and majesty around them, but they understand instinctively that nature has no malice. The viewer is left with a sense of wonder at the beauty, mystery and preciousness of the world all around us.