The Wonder Years (shorts)

Screening at Chicago Filmmakers 5243 N. Clark Street They were the best of times, they were the worst of times; relive the roller coaster of hormones and teen angst from the first crush to coming out. GENDERFREAK (Rebecca Louisell, USA, 2012) What happens when Rachel, the token straight friend in her group, meets a gender-queer teenager named Sammy who just happens to be able to play guitar to her violin? SAM (Sal Bordo, USA, 2011) After being bullied and beaten for dressing like a boy at school, Sam escapes into the fields surrounding her house, where she's forced to spend the night and choose between who she is and who the world expects her to be. EENS LIKE PHIL (David Rosler & Dominic Haxton, USA, 2012) This film explores the complicated and painful circumstances surrounding the relationship between gay teen Phil and his classmate Adam who brutally bullies him. OVERFLOW (Ruby Drake, USA, 2013) Two girls try to work through an unexpected crisis in their friendship. BEYOUTIFUL (Hsin Pei Emilie Liu, USA, 2012) This animation tickles the heavy gender identity issue with playful color and cute characters. DEFLATED (Dustin Shroff, USA, 2012) Chris has come to the super-store with his dad to spend his allowance and his heart is set on getting a bouncy ball. But when he gets to the toy aisle, he discovers that all of the balls in the ball cage are bright pink...except for one deflated green ball. THE PACKAGE (O PACOTE) (Rafael Aidar, Brazil, 2013) In the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Leandro is the new kid at school. When he is befriended by Jefferson, with whom he grows increasingly intimate, Leandro has to address his HIV-positive status. YEAH KOWALSKI! (Evan Roberts, USA, 2012) Thirteen-year-old Gabe Kowalski is a late bloomer who goes to great lengths to impress his classmate crush, Shane. KISSING DREW (Philip J. Connell, Canada, 2013) Inside a drab middle school in 1992, a sexually confused eighth-grader attempts to regain his dignity after being bullied by a sex-obsessed “cool kid” about whom he privately fantasizes.

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