Forum of Independents - Competition 2014 / Sixteen / United Kingdom 2013
Now nearly 16, Jumah was once a Congolese child soldier, but aid worker Laura adopted him and now they live together in London. The past he tried to leave behind rears its ugly head after he witnesses a tragic death. With understanding and a lack of sentimentality, the director of this subtle debut succeeds in plumbing the turbulent inner depths of an adolescent boy.
Before being adopted by an aid worker named Laura, 16-year-old Jumah used to be a Congolese child soldier. Now they live together in multicultural London; Jumah is a good student and has just begun a relationship with schoolmate Chloe. But everything changes in an instant when he and a friend witness the murder of an old man. Jumah is once again exposed to intense psychological and physical pressure, and he is forced to react. Demonstrating understanding and a lack of sentimentality, the director succeeds in plumbing the turbulent inner depths of a teenage boy determined to conquer the demons of his past and create a new life in a foreign land. The character of young Jumah is played by Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, who turns in a spare yet highly focused and convincing performance. This sincere, realistically shot, and subtle debut with a clear message, in which the camera is virtually always within point-blank range of lead character Jumah, will screen at the Karlovy Vary festival as an international premiere.
80 min / Color, DCP
International premiere
Director Rob Brown
/ Screenplay Rob Brown
/ Dir. of Photography Justin Brown
/ Music John Bowen
/ Editor Barry Moen
/ Producer Jake Hume, Nicholas Jeune
/ Production Seize Films
/ Cast Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Rachael Stirling, Rosie Day, Fady Elsayed, Sam Spruell
Rob Brown (United Kingdom), director and screenwriter, graduated from film school in Bournemouth. His short movies have screened at the Edinburgh IFF and on BBC TV. In 2008 Brown was selected to participate in the Think Shoot Distribute program at the 2008 London Film Festival. The short film Silent Things had its premiere at the 40th Rotterdam IFF, where it received a prize. The script for Brown’s first feature film, Sixteen, was chosen for a performed reading at the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum during the Edinburgh IFF in 2011. The movie itself went on screen at last year’s film festival in London. The director’s shorts include: Family Portrait (2005), Dermo Sluchaetsa (2007), Open Skies (2007), Echoes (2009), Silent Things (2010), Paper Hearts (2011).
Rob Brown
Film Director
Nic Jeune
Producer
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