Identity
The film follows the fortunes of four individuals over the course of the contest:
Giorgos
10yr old Giorgos from Cyprus has a loving family but is bullied at school and labelled ‘gay’ for his passion for singing and not football.
Marina
Marina, 14, from Bulgaria has all the material comforts of a wealthy home but misses the love of her father who is divorcing her mother.
Laurens
15 year old Laurens from Belgium is in the throws of adolescent awkwardness and is besieged by overlong limbs and raging hormones. When he’s not chasing girls, Laurens practices solos in his affluent home town of Ypres.
Mariam
Mariam is 13 and lives in a crumbling Soviet block in Georgia. She hopes for success in the contest to raise the profile of her small and relatively unknown country and also to gain a better life for her and her family in Georgia’s capital.
Questions:
- Watch this clip from the film’s trailer. How are the first three contestants represented - or shown to us - in this short glimpse? Do you get a sense of their identity from this footage? The fourth character, Mariam, is seen briefly in the trailer although we don’t hear her speaking as her English is not fluent.
- In general would you say it’s easy to express your individual identity, or do you feel there is pressure on young people to fit into a particular image or group?
Extension Question:
- What would you say are the differences between the ‘heroes’ presented in Hollywood films or on television, and the 'heroes' of this film?