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Closed Captions Icon Open Cations Icon Showing with captioning. The intro and Q&A on May 3 will include ASL interpretation. Information about the May 5 relaxed screening is available in our fact sheet. Take a look at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema accessibility guide.

Top 20 Audience Favourite

High school can be tough at the best of times. For a neurodiverse teenager, stepping into school brings its own unique set of challenges. At a specialist school in rural Victoria, Australia, students prepare for a major time-travel-themed, John Farnham — inspired musical production that will see them connect with a hungry audience — and themselves — as they come of age on screen in this joyful, surprising and fun feature documentary by Thomas Charles Hyland. Each student brings their own charisma and motivation centre stage. For Halle, the production is a way to honour family, while for Chelsea, it’s a well-needed opportunity to unleash their talents. Told in vérité, the film lets us peek behind the curtain at a school program that emanates understanding and empathy for students and that empowers kids, allowing their strengths to blossom. And, after graduation, the hope is that the wider world might be able to do the same.

Credits

  • Director(s)

    • Thomas Charles Hyland
  • Producer(s)

    • Josie Mason Campbell
    • Jim Wright
    • Catherine Bradbury
  • Executive Producer(s)

    • Josie Mason Campbell
    • Jim Wright
  • Writer(s)

    • Thomas Charles Hylan

Promotional Partners

Community Partner: Fringe Festival

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