Whole New Thing 4:30pm • Oct 1 • sWFc 8:45pm • Oct 4 • the Guild

In this charming coming-of-age story, Emerson Thorsen is a precocious thirteen year old boy straddling the precipice between adolescence and adulthood. Home schooled by his eco-hippie parents in Nova Scotia, Emerson has grown up around cultural encouragement and casual nudity. When his poor math skills get him sent off to the local school, Emerson enters a world in which his maturity and intellectual prowess don’t do much to endear him to the other boys. But while his peers less than appreciate him, his English teacher, Mr. Grant, is excited to have found a receptive and intelligent student. Emerson eventually develops a crush on his new teacher, and while Mr. Grant is no prude (he passes the long winters by cruising the local rest stop), the attentions from his outspoken student bring up unwelcome dilemmas. Whole New Thing is a sweet-natured film that looks at the ups and downs we face on the road to adulthood, and the quirky and individual ways that we get there. – Rachel Popowcer (Canada, 2005, 92 min, dir: Amnon Buchbinder)