LIFT American Directions

LIFT won Best Film at this year’s Urban World Film Festival and was developed at the Sundance Filmmakers Lab. Co-directors DeMane Davis and Khari Streeter’s sophomore feature film is stylishly smart, with moments of pure cinematic audacity.

LIFT takes us into the world of “boosters”-professional shoplifters. Niecy is a saleswoman at a large department store; she is also the best booster in Boston. Dressed in her Ferragamo shoes and sporting her Versace handbags, Niecy is seemingly a pillar of the community. Yet, the one thing she so desperately wants alludes her-her mother’s approval. Torn between material desires and emotional needs, Niecy precariously teeters between having and losing it all.

Aided by an eclectic soundtrack from hip hop to ’80s pop to classical, and a fiercely nuanced script by Demane Davis, LIFT is a fantastic film that transcends issues of race and gender. Everyone wants his or her parent’s love.