Tadpole

Colour, 35mm
USA, 2002, 78 min
Section: Horizons - Awarded Films

Synopsis

Oscar Grubman dazzles everyone around him, mature women in particular, with his scholarship, gallantry and perfect knowledge of French. But he has two problems – he’s only fifteen and, moreover, he is hopelessly in love with his step-mother Eve. He is convinced that he’d be a much better bet for her than his overworked father Stanley. On Thanksgiving Day Oscar meets the attractive Diana who happens to be his step-mother’s best friend. She reminds him of his unfulfilled love: Diana is attracted by his youth. The pair begin a short love affair which they try to hide from Oscar’s parents – but not for long: in an unguarded moment, they are caught by Oscar’s father.

About the director

Gary Winick has made the following films: Curfew (1989), Out of the Rain (1991) with Bridget Fonda, Sweet Nothing (1996) with Mira Sorvina, The Tic Code (1998) with Polly Draper and Gregory Hines, and Sam the Man (2000). As a producer he was involved in the films Punk (1986), Sweet Nothing (1996), Women in Film (2001), Tape (2001), Chelsea Walls (2001), Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001) and Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (2002). He is currently teaching at the Tisch School of the Arts in New York. For Tadpole he won Best Director at the Sundance IFF in 2002.