Calgary Public Library

Up Heartbreak Hill, a Long Distance Films production ; a film by Erica Scharf ; producers, Erica Scharf, Christina D. King ; director, Erica Scharf ; a co-production of Long Distance Films, LLC, Native American Public Telecommunications, ITVS, POV's Diverse Voices Project and New Mexico PBS

eng

videorecording

Not rated

Up Heartbreak Hill

801706401

a Long Distance Films production ; a film by Erica Scharf ; producers, Erica Scharf, Christina D. King ; director, Erica Scharf ; a co-production of Long Distance Films, LLC, Native American Public Telecommunications, ITVS, POV's Diverse Voices Project and New Mexico PBS

82

Chronicles the senior year of three Navajo high-school students in New Mexico -- Thomas, an elite runner; Tamara, an academic superstar; and Gabby, an aspiring photographer -- as they navigate their senior year at a reservation high school. As graduation nears, they must decide whether or not to stay in their community -- a place inextricably woven into the fiber of their beings -- or leave in pursuit of opportunities elsewhere. Largely isolated from mainstream America, they hesitate to separate from their families and traditions, rooted to home in equal parts by love, obligation, and fear. Tribal elders urge members of the younger generation to leave -- acquire an education or learn a trade -- and return home with the skills to help their people. But with a poverty rate of 65% and a per capita income under $6,200, Navajo has few prospects

live action

Coming of age in the contemporary Native American world