One World Cinema

Tribeca Film Festival 2015 Audience Award Winner: Narrative

Fifteen year old Jack, who was perceived to be a delinquent, never had a lot of friends. In fact, growing up in a small rural town, he was relentlessly and viciously bullied and attacked by two older townies. They spray-painted on Jack’s house and face, and repeatedly hit his younger cousin, Ben, with paintballs.

You might be thinking, if Jack was constantly bullied, how did he get his nickname, “King Jack”?

When “King Jack” was younger, his father would put him up on his shoulders, and carry him around the house declaring that Jack was the King of the Couch and the House! Jack’s older brother Tom, became jealous and detested this because Tom was the popular one, therefore, Tom was worthy of being the King, while Jack was merely a scab.

“King Jack” is a coming of age story, where a young teen and his little cousin bond over beer, truth or dare sessions at the popular girls’ house, and running and hiding from the vicious and violent town bullies.

Written and Directed by Felix Thompson.

Director’s Statement:

“With King Jack I wanted to tell a story about the secret childhood our parents weren’t around for: a childhood made up of hazy summer days that were long and idle. Summers were a time when everyone’s parents were stuck at work so you had to fend for yourself. They were a time for learning your first swearword, drinking your first beer or having your first kiss. It’s funny how those moments, experienced far from the prying eyes of adults, seemed to have such a telling impact on the people we eventually became. It was as if those summers were a perfect snapshot of adolescence: a time when a single weekend could change your life.

King Jack is a film about one of those weekends. Inspired by some of the kids and stories that I grew up around it tells the fictional tale of a kid trapped in a cycle of bullying. But though the film has its fair share of harrowing moments, for me this story was ultimately something our character would look back on fondly years later.

There is something inherently romantic about our rites of passage. The memories are worn and faded from frequent reliving and retelling. So while I wanted to capture a sense of realism and honesty, I was also guided by the idea that our story was a childhood fable. One that was scrappy and rough around the edges, but a fable with a heart and a moral nevertheless.”

Article by One World Cinema.
http://1worldcinema.com

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