ZOE American Directions

Few films capture our universal yearning for connection as simply and effectively as Deborah Attoinese’s heartfelt story of three runaway teens and a displaced British woman whose paths cross in the desert.

Unable to bear the sight of her battered mother any longer, Zoe and her equally unhappy girlfriends, Sarah and Ally, run away with only the clothes on their backs and no real destination in mind. Headed west, they meet Cecilia, an English psychologist travelling through the desert in order to disperse her mother’s ashes according to her wishes. Their chance encounter leads to a profound bond between Cecilia searching to understand the Native American culture her mother adopted-and Zoe, longing to connect to her own Cherokee heritage.

Director Attoinese’s roots as a photographer show in the film’s beautiful composition. But the chemistry between Cecilia, Jenny Seagrove in a quietly galvanizing performance, and Zoe, the wholly natural Vanessa Zima, is what makes this film special.