The Girl With Brains In Her Feet

U K.
1996, 35mm, Color, 98 min.
U.S. Premiere

Director: Poberto Bangura
Producer: Don Boyd
Cinematographer: Peter Butler
Editor: Adam Ross
Screenwriter: Jo Hodges
Music: Rob lane Principal
Cast: Joanna Ward, Amanda Wealing, John Ihompson, Jamie Mcintosh

Leicester, 1972. Bellbottoms are in, T-Rex is climbing the charts, and Jack (Joanna Ward), a thirteen-year-old girl of mixed race, has a lot of growing up to do. She is a beautiful, precocious teen who has a talent for sprinting, a talent for drawing, and a talent for getting into trouble. Her erratic mother Viv (Amanda Mealing) tries to keep a close eye on her but Jack is drawn to adventure. Gearing up for race to win a spot on the county squad, she is considered a championship athlete by her coach (John Thompson), but there is more to life than athletics and, like most adolescents, Jack is obsessed with sex. Eventually she meets Spanner (Joshua Henderson), a pot smoking David Cassidy look-alike, whose approach to life intrigues her. Before long, Jack finds herself dealing with a little more than she can handle. Working from a semi-autobiographical script by Jo Hodges, Roberto Bangura's debut feature is an unusually accurate coming-of-age tale that is both poignant, humorous, and ultimately uplifting.