Jo is ten years old and lives with her drug-addicted stepfather in a run-down trailer park on the banks of the Shenandoah River. She spends her days fishing, collecting scrap metal, and talking to her best friend Selma. At night, she listens to the folk songs of her supposed biological father, a legendary singer from Los Angeles. When her stepfather dies of an overdose, Jo sees her chance: she pawns his tools, steals his beat-up car, and sets off with Selma for California, hoping to find her real father. Director Joe Duca stages HER NAME WAS JO as a touching coming-of-age film and road movie that shows the resilience of childlike innocence in a relentless reality. With impressive landscape shots and sensitive characterization, the film tells of the search for identity and belonging in a world full of disappointment. HER NAME WAS JO premiered in 2020 at the Lighthouse International Film Festival. It impressed juries and audiences at numerous festivals, winning the award for best narrative feature at the Kansas City FilmFest International and the Filmocracy Fest. The film also won the audience award at the Richmond International Film Festival.
Action & Aventure, Drama
1h 44min
16
EN
ES
FR
SV
IT
PT
EN
DE
PL
After her drug addicted step-father passes away, teenager Jo gets the chance to take her life into her own hands.
Jo is ten years old and lives with her drug-addicted stepfather in a run-down trailer park on the banks of the Shenandoah River. She spends her days fishing, collecting scrap metal, and talking to her best friend Selma. At night, she listens to the folk songs of her supposed biological father, a legendary singer from Los Angeles. When her stepfather dies of an overdose, Jo sees her chance: she pawns his tools, steals his beat-up car, and sets off with Selma for California, hoping to find her real father.
Director Joe Duca stages HER NAME WAS JO as a touching coming-of-age film and road movie that shows the resilience of childlike innocence in a relentless reality. With impressive landscape shots and sensitive characterization, the film tells of the search for identity and belonging in a world full of disappointment.
HER NAME WAS JO premiered in 2020 at the Lighthouse International Film Festival. It impressed juries and audiences at numerous festivals, winning the award for best narrative feature at the Kansas City FilmFest International and the Filmocracy Fest. The film also won the audience award at the Richmond International Film Festival.