Florida Premiere

Shown with Angelica

An immigrant boy of the Depression Era soars above his families tragedies by fulfilling his dream of flying in an airplane.

Director Biography - Yasmin Gorenberg

Yasmin Gorenberg, is an award-winning director and cinematographer, originally from Jerusalem, currently residing in New York City. As a cinematographer, she has shot countless short films varying from documentaries, music videos to experimental films. In addition, she recently completed the principal photography of the feature-length documentary The Road to Sabarimala shot in Kerala, India. As a writer-director, her films include Who by Water Who by Fire which premiered at Lisbon Rendevu Film Festival. Her most recent short film, 40 Nickels, has won the 2019 George A. Heinemann Award and is getting ready to enter the festival circuit.

Director Statement

When my grandfather was a boy during the Depression, he saved the nickels that his parents gave him for ice cream until he had a bag full – two dollars, a fortune – and rode his bicycle to the airfield near his house to take his first flight. His parents came to the United States from Eastern Europe. They fled their village to escape ethnic and religious persecution. But at age 11, all my grandfather wanted was to fly. His dream elevated him above the family memories of violent death, above the difficult times, above his parents' fear.

This is a story about parents and children: How trauma never leaves a family, and how hope and resilience are also passed down. It asks the question: Can a new generation look at the world with wonder rather than with fear?