Gabi, 8 till 13 år (Gabi: Between Ages 8 and 13), dir.
Engeli Broberg, 2021, Sweden/Denmark/Norway, 79m., in Swedish and English with English subtitles 👍
Saturday, June 25, 2022, 3:45pm Roxie
+Streaming
We meet Gabi as an 8-year-old child, living in Stockholm, and check in with her throughout the following five years, as they move to Dalarna (well inland; as the crow flies, roughly halfway to Trondheim, Norway). Gabi is interested in all the usual kid stuff: superheroes and video games and football (soccer), but they are not interested in conforming to any sort of prescribed gender roles. At age 13, Gabi writes a letter to their future self, telling a little about what their life is like now and wondering aloud what the future will bring.
The first thing that strikes you is that this 8-year-old speaks flawless English. Although the Swedish education system does teach English early and quite well, there is also the fact that Gabi’s mother is from England, so they had a bit of a head start. The other thing that is immediately apparent is that this kid is charting their own course, deciding how to express their gender, feeling free to adopt some bits of “boys” clothing and behavior and other bits of “girls,” while holding to the idea that the two are more similar than different. It’s a glimpse into a world very different from my childhood, to be sure; highly recommended.
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