Educational Media Reviews Online

A powerful film of a young girl trying to navigate the world of parental addiction, divorce, fear, being a runaway, and trying to keep her family together. Mostly set in an urban setting, there are times that the young girl Billie, named for Billie Holiday, and her brother Nico get to leave their troubles behind as they get to go to the beach.

I thought it was very effective that the filmmaker used the Black and White for the grittier everyday life scenes and would change to color when Billie would fantasize about being with her mother in the earlier part of the film. The filmmaker also used the iris-out shot technique to have Billie think of her mother as she saw her as the perfect parent. This technique was also used in other parts of the film to transition from one situation to another. The gritty music of Billie Holiday accentuates both the rawness and the melancholy sweetness of the subject matter.

The film would be very useful to be in a collection to teach students who are not familiar with an urban or addictive culture what it is like to be in that kind of situation. There are touching times when the two young people get to be children, like the scenes at Christmas. The main character also must be the parent as she takes care of her father or protects her brother. The film could be used in an urban studies, education, or social justice curriculum.

Awards:
Piazolla prize, Mar Del Plata Film Festival; Crystal Bear Generation Kplus, Best Film, Berlin Int'l. Film Festival; People's Choice Award, Pingyao Int'l. Film Festival; College Jury Prize, Quebec City Int'l. Film Festival; Nominated, Golden Spike, Valladolid Int'l. Film Festival; Official Selection, Tribeca Film Festival; Official Selection, Mill Valley Film Festival; Official Selection, Tokyo Int'l. Film Festival

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