Ginger & Rosa

Running time: 89 mins

Cinequest proudly opens the 2013 festival with director Sally Potter's (Orlando) new film. Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Annette Bening and Christina Hendricks breathe life into 1960s London in this coming-of-age story.

Inseparable best friends Ginger (Fanning) and Rosa (Englert) ditch their studies to engage in passionate discussions about politics, gender, sex, religion, and hairstyles. But when the Cuban Missile Crisis catalyzes their fears, the girls realize they are becoming less similar. While Ginger engrosses herself with thoughts of political turmoil, Rosa takes great interest in Ginger's father (played by Alessandro Nivola). As the fear of the Cold War grips the world and the girls flirt with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, they also begin to assert themselves during the sexual revolution. Nothing will ever be the same again.

Potter beautifully weaves the tales of growing girls with their intimate conflicts, against a backdrop of global catastrophe. Through their brilliantly subtle performances, both Fanning and Englert take center stage, while a top-notch supporting cast adds a perfect balance to a story that depicts precisely the meaning of youth and of discovering who we are.