I love films that go straight for the heart. How about you? This is one. In fact, the entire first half runneth over with pure love -- a love way bigger than race or sex or sexual preference -- pure undiluted human love. Unfortunately, life and love seldom flow without some dissonance. The second half contrasts with discord while the main character beats her head against the definitions of family.

The production is intimate, well edited, softly artistic and will stroke at the cords of your heart. It'll make you yearn for your family.

Synopsis from production notes: With white Jewish lesbians for parents and two adopted brothers - one mixed-race and one Korean -- Brooklyn teen Avery grew up in a unique and loving household. But when her curiosity about her African-American roots grows, she decides to contact her birth mother. This choice propels Avery into her own complicated exploration of race, identity, and family that threatens to distance her from the parents she's always known. She begins staying away from home, starts skipping school, and risks losing her shot at the college track career she had always dreamed of. But when Avery decides to pick up the pieces of her life and make sense of her identity, the results are inspiring. "Off and Running" follows Avery to the brink of adulthood, exploring the strength of family bonds and the lengths some people must go to become themselves.

-- Books by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony --