AleKino!
Panorama
Twelve and Holding
The film tells the story of three friends: introverted Jacob, precocious Malee and vulnerable Leonard. It is a study of children losing their innocence.
The opening scene of children's play in a little house on a tree becomes, paradoxically, a beginning of their way to adulthood. As a result of a fatal accident in which Jacob's brother dies, the three friends have to deal with the trauma by themselves. Leonard is obsessed with dieting and desperately fights excessive eating in his family. Malee, whose hard-working mother has no time to talk to her daughter, looks for warmth in a strange relationship with Gus. Jacob tries to redefine his relationship with parents and to cope with his brother's death. Twelve and Holding is an interesting portrayal of characters and of the American suburban community as a whole. The film was screened in the Generation section of the Berlin film festival.