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Information:

Discovery

[OFFAN] | 2009 | 78 min | Feature Documentary

Directed by: Nicole Opper

(Off and Running)
USA

World Premiere

Interests: About Family,  Coming of Age,  Documentary,  Family Issues,  Female Director(s),  Identity,  LGBT,  NY Director,  NYcomp,  New York,  Sports

Cast & Credits

Director(s):
Nicole Opper
Screenwriter:
Nicole Opper, Avery Klein-Cloud
Producer(s):
Sharese Bullock, Nicole Opper
Executive Producers:
Macky Alston, Sandra Itkoff
Director of Photography:
Jacob Okada
Editor:
Cheree Dillon
Music:
Daniel Bernard Roumain

Related Links

Faces of the Festival:
Nicole Opper
Coming Out: LGBT Films at TFF 2009
Q&A: Off and Running
Don't Miss: Off and Running

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Synopsis

Avery is a typical Brooklyn teen living in an atypical, United Nations-style melting pot. Her adoptive parents are white Jewish lesbians, her younger brother is Korean, her older brother is mixed-race, and she is black. Though her household is loving, she can't quite quell her curiosity about her biological African-American roots. The decision to contact her birth mother sparks a complicated exploration of race and identity. As Avery's self-awareness increases, the question of racial identity takes center-stage. The more she searches for answers about her biological family, the more emotionally charged and distant from her current family she becomes. She maintains her position on the school track team, but drops out of high school and eventually leaves home.

Avery's constant displacement—whether it was at her Jewish elementary school, or among black friends, or even at home—informs her difficult journey, objectively documented by director Nicole Opper. Most impressive is Opper's poised camera, able to capture honest and articulate conversations between Avery and her incredibly attentive brother Rafi. Off and Running is a unique and very American coming-of-age story that delves into the psyche of race through a fresh and careful dissection of a family's struggle.

--Sara Nodjoumi

 

Co-presented by

 

 

+Related Media

Off and Running - Trailer

+Gallery

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+About The Director

Nicole Opper recently produced the five-part documentary series LSS for Here! Networks, America's premium gay television network. She line-produced Macky Alston's Emmy-nominated The Killer Within, which aired on the Discovery Channel in 2007, and associate produced Peter Miller's Sacco and Vanzetti. Her documentary short Song of Hannah is distributed by The National Center for Jewish Film. Off and Running, Opper's feature-length debut was a selection of the Tribeca All Access program. Opper also teaches filmmaking and media literacy in New York City high schools.

+Film Contacts

Print Source

Nicole Opper
Nicole Opper Productions
Email: nicoleopp@gmail.com

Great Film by pmarchesi on May 02, 2009 08:12 PM
You touched on so many issues beyond just adoption. However, as the mother of an adopted young adult struggling with her identity, the story is poignant and so real. Send your message to as many adoptees you can reach. It is very special.
 
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