FESTIVAL SCHEDULE: April 15

Alex

Alex was adopted at birth. Now that she has come of age, her biological mother has agreed to meet her. She has to choose between declining this opportunity, or getting to know her mother. On the journey, Alex strives to overcome the fear of losing something precious.

In Spanish with English subtitles

Being a Teen is Tough

A youth from Haida Gwaii shares some challenges of - and solutions to - being a teenager.

In Haida with English subtitles

Bhavini - I Just Wanna Dance

Little Bhavini dreams her way out of a Mumbai slum into a career as a dancer. She keeps practicing the steps of traditional Indian dancing; she keeps begging her mother to allow her to take lessons with a famous teacher. But it’s expensive and they are barely scraping by since her father died. So Bhavini begins to work at her mother’s beauty salon. And, there is another obstacle to overcome: the entrance examination. This documentary, explores the question of what it means to live for one’s dreams.

In Hindi with English Subtitles

Advisory: mentions the death of a father

Jump

A story that celebrates difference. In a visually dazzling film about the importance of family when pursuing your dreams, Jump tells the tale of 12-year-old Edwin, a circus clown like his father, who defies tradition by embarking on a daring quest to become a trapeze artist.

Militant Mothers – Beating the Power Brokers

Sometimes being on the side of right is a difficult place to be. In 1971, a group of mothers from the Raymur Housing Project found that out when, for the sake of their children’s safety, they were forced to take on the school board, city council and a national railway company. After phone calls, petitions and speeches got them nowhere, they took one last courageous act.

Predeceds: True Son

Sissy

When Idunn stays home alone for the first time, her brother Even has big plans for her. Even thinks that his sister is the biggest sissy on the planet. Will this ordinary winter day be the scariest day in Idunn's life? Or are things not as scary as they seem? And who is really the biggest sissy?

 

In Norwegian with English subtitles

Teenage Dance

A lonely teenager tries to decide: dress to express yourself or dress for the expectations of others.

The Community Sponsor for this progam is Out on Screen.

The Stowaway

After running away from an orphanage, 8-year-old Emma believes she has found the perfect hiding place in the apartment of a blind woman named Evelyn. But Evelyn is not oblivious to the strange noises in her apartment. She plays along with her little roommate’s silent game of hide and seek and eventually learns to see the world through the eyes of a child.

In German with English Subtitles

The Way He Looks

Leonardo is a 15 year-old blind student with a caring best friend named Giovana. When a new student, Gabriel, shows up the three become very close. It is only a matter of time until they have crushes on each other.

In Portuguese with English subtitles

The Community Sponsor for this progam is Out on Screen.

True Son

CLOSING NIGHT FILM

This passionate and inspirational documentary follows 22-year old Michael Tubbs and his campaign for a seat on City Council in Stockton, California, a city riddled with financial crisis and crime rates rivaling Afghanistan. For Michael, a Stockton native born to a teenage mother and incarcerated father, engaging with youth is crucial to solving Stockton’s problems. After graduating from Stanford University, Michael returns home and rallies hundreds of youth to join his movement to Reinvent Stockton.

Themes: racism, abuse of power, community building, grassroots organizing and activism, family, self-determination, and poverty

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