Summertime

(USA / 2020 / Directed by Carlos López Estrada)

Showtimes August 4- 5:
Wed 5:00(MM) & 7:00 / Thur 7:00

Composed entirely of spoken word performances and enhanced by dreamy music and dance sequences, director Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting, Raya and the Last Dragon) constructed this film around the output of an arts nonprofit that specializes in teaching L.A.-based teenagers to express themselves through poetry. His vision for Summertime began at a showcase where performers from the workshop recited fearlessly personal texts about themselves, their communities, and their relationship to their city. The project then interwove their pieces into this larger, unified, and gloriously moving narrative experiment – part contemporary musical and part sociological art. Each of the 25 students featured is listed as a co-writer of the film, and many of them play versions of themselves on screen. The result is a street-level La La Land told not by starry-eyed transplants but by native Angelanos.

As they explore what it means today to be young and metropolitan, the cast is unshakably confident. These kids aren’t naïve. They’re passionate. Whether they’re paying loving homage to working at a family Korean restaurant or giving two middle fingers to a fast-food job they hate, chasing their dreams or chasing an ex, the commitment each of these performers brings to their art is endearing. Likewise, the collaborative spirit of the project is inspiring, enough to recommend the film to everyone from adults to creative teens and theater-lovers of all ages. It may take a little time to hook into the movie’s rhythms, but once you do, you’ll be hooked for the duration.  

“…THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL MOVIE THIS YEAR.”  -- Peter DeBrudge, Variety

 R / 1 hr 35 mins.