Growing Pains: Coming-of-Age Stories

On a school day, seven-year-old Queenie hustles and schemes ways to make money on the streets of New York City.

Filmed over two years, Ebony, a single mom raising six kids in a transitional housing program in Brownsville, Brooklyn, aims to create a better life for her children by moving them into permanent housing. This sensitive narrative playfully blends Ebony's story with footage taken by her children. Their cinematography composes the essence of their day-to-day life, from mundane chores to hard fought moments of dancing and joy. A story of optimism shines from the most unlikely place.

In a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood, a reclusive pigeon keeper is tasked with caring for his estranged daughter for a day, but is blindsided by a revelation that could mean losing her for good.

In the twilight of his life, Mehrdad, now an elderly man, reminisces about his transformative journey from Iran to Japan, a poignant odyssey that began in the wake of his mother's passing when he was just a young boy. His narrative unfolds around a heartwarming encounter with an elderly Japanese woman, forged amidst the hushed serenity of a graveyard and facilitated by the pages of his cherished sketchbook.

Close friends Edwin and Steven advise each other on dating and drama — based on zero experience — while seeking a spot to hang after school.