BERLIN (AP) - U.S. director Victoria Mahoney says her gritty, inner-city feature film, “Yelling to the Sky” is a story of the fundamental strength of an individual, faced with steep odds.
The film premieres Saturday at the Berlin Film Festival, where it is in competition. It stars Zoe Kravitz as a 17-year-old coming of age in an abusive household and drug-ridden neighborhood.
Gabourey Sidibe, who starred in the urban drama “Precious,” plays a supporting role. She said Mahoney’s film “is not a perfect, pretty story” that is “trying to make you like it,” but reflects many people’s reality. She added that her own life “has never looked like anything Hollywood has produced.”
Shot in Queens, New York, the film is based on Mahoney’s experience growing up in a mixed-race family.
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