DEAR THIRTEEN
A film by Alexis Neophytides
2022, 80 minutes
2022, 80 minutes
No. 411
Documentary
Documentary
Description
Dear Thirteen weaves together nine stories of thirteen-year-olds from across the world to create a nuanced portrait of a new generation. Video diaries and candid interviews reveal how global issues are shaping – and being shaped by – young people: gender identity, rising anti-Semitism, gun violence, and racial divisions.
In Australia Evie, a trans girl, begins her medical transition with confidence and optimism; in France Oren prepares for his Bar Mitzvah while reckoning with prejudice in his hometown; in Brooklyn Madeline finds joy and creativity on Tik Tok while contending with the pressures of the pandemic; in Mexico Fany dreams of breaking the mold as a female boxer while navigating her parents’ separation.
This empathetic portrait of a new generation goes beyond stereotypes of adolescence to capture the complexity of finding a way into adulthood today.
Festivals
Winner, AICEF Prize for Cross-Cultural FIlmmaking, Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival
Official Selection, DOC NYCOfficial Selection, San Francisco Documentary Film Festival
Official Selection, Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Official Selection, Providence Children's Festival
Official Selection, Cleveland International Film Festival
Official Selection, Vail Film Festival
Official Selection, Miami Film Festival
Official Selection, Milwaukee Film Festival
Reviews
“Equal parts funny and emotionally affecting…. it’s a refreshing reminder in a world community that seems increasingly cynical. Dear Thirteen bravely suggests that looking back just might be the way ahead.” - Film Threat
“Alexis Neophytides’ eye-opening documentary, “Dear Thirteen,” takes viewers all over the world to show the vast variety of what it means to be 13 years old in modern societies. The children in the film are wise beyond their years and yet achingly youthful. This is the kind of movie that sends you back into your own past to look at how you have grown and changed over the years, and yet it’s never preachy or condescending…It’s the best kind of documentary — both enlightening and entertaining.” - Littleton Independent
“A tender portrait of 13-year-olds across the globe, including a Jewish boy preparing for his bar mitzvah, this documentary trains its eye on a generation coming of age in an especially complicated time.” - NY Jewish Week
