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One more review I didn’t even know about…
By Kristy | July 22, 2008
It’s summer time and even though not a lot is happening right now with festivals or broadcasts or screenings, we are staying busy. We have a new postcard (thanks again Jenny), we’re hammering out the logistics of our DVD (!), and sending the film out for reviews, quotes and endorsements for educational outreach. And as always, we are fundraising, fundraising, fundraising.
So for the most part, my Google Alert in-box has been quite empty. But somehow this review slipped through the Google cracks and I found it when I was googling our film title and looking for something else. We were one of 8 films this blog reviewed at Silverdocs and even though I have never heard of it before, I love the name: Tiny Mix Tapes. My boyfriend and I have been packing and we came across the one and only mix tape he made for me during our courtship process. We both lamented the fact that their really is no replacement for the Mix Tape. A Playlist or a Mix CD is simply not the same thing. Nothing can replace the care, time and thought that was once put into a Mix Tape. And some of you out there will be so young, you won’t even know what I am talking about!
This is what they had to say and I think they summarized the film quite well:
Going on 13
Going on 13 follows four young girls for four years as they traverse life in school and at home through their difficult prepubescent years in Oakland, California. Filmmakers Kristy Guevara Flanagan and Dawn Valadez gain incredible access to the lives of these girls. They are eager to talk about themselves, play, and simply enjoy what life has to offer at age 9 but gradually find life more difficult to manage as they get older. Each of the girls has a unique family life, and their stories are fascinating, each struggling with self-image issues. One says, “I don’t like anything about myself,” when asked to describe her best trait. “I am ugly. Everyone tells me that I am ugly.” These heartbreaking words are common to many young girls, and it’s both compelling and disturbing to watch it on film. As the girls enter puberty, questions about sex, boys, and even marriage rise to the surface in often amusing, yet genuine ways. Isha, who comes from a traditional Indian family, is already concerned at the age of 13 about whether she will be allowed to choose her own husband. The film tackles issues of race, gender, cultural diversity, a problematic public education system, post-traumatic stress disorder, and divorce; but, in reality, this is a story about four ethnically diverse young women, who, like all of us, have unique obstacles and opportunities through which they must maneuver during this formative time in their lives.—Magritte
Here is the rest of the article. And well, it’s just cool. I particularly like the line about gaining incredible access. That one may have to go onto the quote page!
I never know how reviewers are watching the film, whether they see it with an audience at one of our screenings or are watching it in a stuffy press room on a laptop with headphones. But I am always impressed when they seem to take the time to watch the whole thing and then come up with something thoughtful and moving to say!
Thank you. For the most part the reviews have all been kind.
Topics: DVD, educational outreach, reviews |
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