Tickets are now on sale for this Opening Night Screening.
Exception: Festival Passes do not include Opening Night Screening
Also showing: Sun, Oct 10 | 10:00 am- 11:59 pm | Virtual | Geoblocked to VT
*Opening Night Film*
*** Filmmaker in attendance (Opening Night only)
Screening followed by Opening Night party in the Atrium
Sweet Thing, written and directed by indie stalwart Alexandre Rockwell (In the Soup; Four Rooms, Little Feet), centers around the lives of two children in contemporary New Bedford, Massachusetts, during one eventful summer spent in a beach house with their mother and her boyfriend. The friendships, loyalties and challenges of adolescence propel the story into a triumph of childhood hope and resilience, yet the film also provides a heartbreaking look at race and poverty’s impact on troubled youths. These kids, Rockwell’s actual children, are always on the move, and the film’s best moments are also the most elemental: the physical beauty and emotional grace of its stars, bustling through grungy streets and lakeside idylls. Featuring black-and-white cinematography that captivates with visual lyricism and nimble flow, Rockwell’s film is a great reminder of the rich history of American independent cinema, where filmmakers across decades have built dreamscapes out of the textures of everyday interactions. ~Orly Yadin