Rising (1999) was their NYU student thesis film, winning those two prestigious fests. It was later adapted into the feature Raising Victor Vargas (2001, retitled from “Long Way Home”) with the same actors. While the short was inspired by Sollett’s life growing up in Brooklyn, the feature was inspired by the actors they found. Rather than remake or stretch out the original short, Sollett and Vives wanted to simply work again with actors Victor Rasuk and Judy Marte and base events in the film on their lives. Sollett worked on the feature script as part of a Cannes residency in 2001.

Both the short and the feature dive in to the oft-horrible world of puberty, where we try to figure out emotions, relationships and even the simplest move –a kiss. Both films have great insight into teen worlds, with realistic acting in everyday New York, without all the sensationalism of teen angst movies, probably due to the discovery of great non-actor kids who were allowed to adjust what they said. It feels like a documentary, but even docs have a tinge of exaggeration. Not here, sometimes kids just plain come of age.

Slide 7: From Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade to Sling Blade

The unforgettable character of inmate Karl Childers had a history before most crowds discovered him in Billy Bob Thornton’s award-winning feature Sling Blade (1996). One of many characters Thornton portrayed in one-man shows, Karl and his story first appeared in the 25-minute short Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (1993). An effective