Event

At Eye Level

(Evi Goldbrunner & Joachim Dollhopf, Germany, live action, 2016, 98 min, in German with English subtitles)
For ages 12+

Presented with Portland German Film Festival / Zeitgeist Northwest! US premiere! 11-year-old Michi lives in a children's home, every day fighting to win the respect of the other kids and dreaming of the day he will find his dad. But then he meets Tom who happens to be a dwarf and his fantasies turn into complex reality. When the kids find out, Michi's life becomes hell and he flees. With nowhere to go, he moves in with Tom, who is new to this fatherhood thing, while Michi tries to hide his embarrassment from his fellow school kids. This forces Tom to confront his difference head-on. As time passes, Tom and Michi discover they have more in common than other sons and fathers. This film teaches us about forgiveness, letting go of friendships, and setting boundaries of trust and respect.

Notes to parents: The film contains a few harsh swear words and scenes of intense bullying.

Screens with:

The Small Grain of Rice (Dirk Böhling, Germany, animated, 2016, 6 min, in German with English subtitles) The true story of the meeting that inspired the first SOS-Children's Village outside of Europe.