Event

2009-10-02a: The Speed of Life -- 2009 DC Asian Pacific American Film

Set in Brooklyn, New York, The Speed of Life centers around a sensitive and precocious 13 year old, Sammer, and his group of juvenile delinquent friends. Sammer has the weight of the world on his shoulders, with a brother in jail, and beloved foster mother who is losing her vision. Plagued by such worries, Sammer is torn between his desire to escape and travel the world and his instinct to stay put and help the ones he loves. To do either of these things, though, he needs money. Stealing video recorders from tourists accomplishes this and has an added perk he gets to see their world through the stolen footage.

A juvenile probation officer, with a dislike for juveniles, mysteriously hires Sammer to follow around a decrepit old man and film him. The old man and Sammer develop a close relationship, and as his filming of the man progresses, Sammer solves the mystery which will ultimately connect all of their lives together.

Capturing the raw energy of adolescent child actors and visual intensity of the streets, buses, stations, and rooftops of Brooklyn on digital video, the film was shot in just weeks on a shoestring budget and picked up a grand jury award at its premiere at the 2007 Venice Film Festival. --Sunbin Song

Director Ed Radtke scheduled for attendance

Preceded by:
Unlocked, Directed by Mio Adilman