OT: Our Town is a 2002 documentary film directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy. It is set at Dominguez High School in Compton, California. The school has not produced a play in twenty years and has no budget, nor a stage. The film documents the efforts by two teachers and twenty-four students to adapt and update Thornton Wilder's 1938 American classic Our Town, set in an all-white small town between the years 1901 and 1913, to better reflect the ethnic background of Dominguez High School and Compton in the year 2000. The film documents rehearsals and the self-doubts experienced leading up to the performance on June 8–10, 2000 in the school's cafeteria.[1][2]
Reception
editA. O. Scott of The New York Times called the film "a modest, moving documentary", noting that "Kennedy observes his subjects with sympathy and tact, and he does the students the courtesy of allowing them to explain themselves, which they do with candor, heart and humor."[3] Ernest Hardy of the LA Weekly praised the film for portraying "a Los Angeles that’s never been put on film".[4]
Awards
edit- Aspen Filmfest - won Audience Award[5]
- Heartland Film Festival - won Crystal Heart Award.[5]
- Los Angeles IFP/West Film Festival - won Best Documentary.[5]
- Palm Springs International Film Festival - won Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.[6]
- Santa Monica Film Festival - won SM/F2 Award.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Press kit for OT: Our Town" (PDF).
- ^ OT: Our Town. 2002.
- ^ A. O. Scott, "FILM REVIEW; Thornton Wilder Passes A Tough High School Test", The New York Times, August 15, 2003.
- ^ Ernest Hardy, "Better Than Alright: The good news about the kids in Our Town", LA Weekly, August 21, 2003.
- ^ a b c d "Awards for OT: Our Town". IMDB.
- ^ "Feature Festival Awards Archive". Palm Springs International Film Society.
External links
edit
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