Dear Thirteen

AICEF Winner • United States • 01h 19m | Q&A 19:20 – 19:30

Tuesday 4 June 2024

Filmmaker in attendance.

Dear Thirteen is a poetic exploration of coming of age in the modern world. Weaving together stories of thirteen-year-olds from France, Australia, Mexico, Nepal and the US, video diaries and candid interviews reveal how global issues are shaping and being shaped by young people. In Australia Evie, a trans girl, begins her medical transition with confidence and optimism, in France Oren prepares for his Bar Mitzvah while reckoning with prejudice in his hometown, in Brooklyn Madeline finds joy and creativity on TikTok while contending with the pressures of the pandemic, in Mexico Fany dreams of breaking the mold as a female boxer while navigating her parents’ separation. The film’s score by Dan Deacon underlines the complexity and the beauty in transition and finding adulthood today.

Director’s Profile

Alexis Neophytides

Alexis Neophytides is a documentary filmmaker and educator based in New York City. Her work largely centers around community and how we find meaning in people and place. She is the co-creator, co-director and producer of Neighborhood Slice, a documentary series that tells the stories of longtime New Yorkers who’ve held onto their little corner of the city despite fast-growing gentrification, broadcast on public television and nominated for multiple NY Emmys. Alexis also produced and directed the series $9.99 with Dave Evans, for which she won a NY Emmy. Her short docs, Doctor Kong, Coney Island’s for the Birds and Ethan 2018 all screened at festivals worldwide, and were broadcast on the Documentary channel and online as a Vimeo Staff Pick. She is currently in post-production on two feature length documentaries, Dear Thirteen and Fire Through Dry Grass.

Over the past decade Alexis has developed filmmaking programs and taught students all around NYC. She created and implemented the filmmaking program for The TEAK Fellowship, a nonprofit program for low-income students in New York City, which she taught for nine years. Focusing on teaching social engagement through documentary film, the year-round course culminated in the production of short documentaries made by the students themselves. Alexis also taught filmmaking at the Video Lab, a youth program at The New School, and developed filmmaking curricula and workshops for various schools and nonprofits including MIT, the Reciprocity Foundation, and Metropolis Ensembles’ Youth Works. She holds a BA from Brown University and an MA in Media Studies from The New School.