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Study Guide Theme: Coming of Age

April 13, 2020

Miriam Lies

In this sensitive coming-of-age drama, a shy, bi-racial teenager wants to invite a boy she met online to her quinceanera—but she fears telling her mother that he’s black.

April 13, 2020

For Akheem

Daje Shelton, a 17-year-old girl from St. Louis, just wants to do the right thing. But growing up in a tough neighborhood, she can’t catch a break: she’s struggling in school; she’s distracted by boys; and she’s surrounded by a culture of violence and brutality. The fatal shooting of Michael Brow...

April 13, 2020

War Witch

A remarkable, inspiring story of human resilience, War Witch tells the story of Komona, a 14- year-old girl whose life took a drastic, tragic turn when armed rebels stormed her village. Forced to join the rebel army and endure brutal training, Komona learns to survive, and even falls in love. Alt...

April 13, 2020

War Dance

Since 1985, the children of the Acholi tribe in northern Uganda have been victimized both by civil war and by a rebel force, the Lord’s Resistance Army. Millions have been displaced into camps where life is harsh. But when one camp’s primary school won the right to compete in Uganda’s national mu...

April 13, 2020

Walking Distance

The film Walking Distance (Distincias Cortas) is a modern day urban fairytale about Fede, a morbidly obese man whose weight makes it difficult for him to leave his house. Living a life of isolation, his only human connection comes through weekly visits by his overbearing sister and her long-suffe...

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