''Pahokee'' is a 2019 American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan about the small rural town of Pahokee located in the

Florida Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Ki ...

. The film uses an observational approach to follow four teenagers as they navigate their senior year of high school. The film premiered in the United States at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and internationally at

Visions du Réel Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

in Switzerland.

Synopsis

The film follows four high school students at Pahokee High School, a school that is integral to the surrounding community. The film follows Na'Kerria, a high school cheerleader who is hoping to become Miss Pahokee High School. She spends her senior year multi-tasking between working at a fried fish restaurant, cheerleading, campaigning for the pageant, and getting her schoolwork done. Next is Jocabed, the youngest daughter of Mexican immigrants and a high-achieving student who is working to finish the year at the top of her class and go to her dream school, the University of Florida. Next, Junior is a father to a one-year-old baby girl who is struggling to balance schoolwork, marching band, and the demands of parenthood. Finally, BJ is the football team co-captain who is a budding leader on and off the field. With the help of his parents, he hopes to attend college and possibly play football there.

Reception

As of February 2022 the film has a 100% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

. Jen Yamato of the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

says, "with a patient and unobtrusive eye, filmmakers Lucas and Bresnan paint impressionistic portraits of a quartet of charismatic teenagers over the course of a pivotal school year.” ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' hailed the film as, "lively and rousing as a generational snapshot, buoyed by the lovable, resilient kids at its heart." Following the film's premiere at the

, Daniel Fienberg of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' said "Pahokee is the best documentary I've seen this Sundance. It's 'America To Me' only verité and in a 112-minute micro.”

Screenings

References

{{Reflist 2019 films 2019 documentary films American documentary films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films Everglades English-language documentary films