Shirley Adams
SOUTH AFRICA | Directed by Oliver Hermanus | Running time: 92 minutes
Monday, March 22 | 11:50 AM - Past Screening
Thursday, March 25 | 9:25 PM - Past Screening
Friday, March 26 | 2:10 PM - Past Screening

SHIRLEY ADAMS is a quietly devastating tale about the effects of youth violence on one South African family. Director Oliver Hermanus is an extraordinarily talented young filmmaker who, in 2006, received a private scholarship to the London Film School from Roland Emmerich, director of Hollywood blockbusters (“Independence... SHIRLEY ADAMS is a quietly devastating tale about the effects of youth violence on one South African family. Director Oliver Hermanus is an extraordinarily talented young filmmaker who, in 2006, received a private scholarship to the London Film School from Roland Emmerich, director of Hollywood blockbusters (“Independence Day”, “2012”). No film could be further removed from Emmerich’s high-octane explosions than SHIRLEY ADAMS. Shirley is a stubbornly devoted mother who spends every minute of her day caring for her teenage son Donovan, the victim of a gang shooting who is now a paraplegic. Hermanus’s camera follows Shirley closely as she bathes her despondent son, helps him eat, and turns him over in bed. Poverty-stricken and without a means of support, Shirley and Donovan have been deserted by Donovan’s father, and Shirley resorts to shoplifting to make ends meet. When Tamsin, a well-meaning young social worker, arrives to help out, Donovan’s life brightens temporarily, though Shirley feels vaguely threatened. Denise Newman, one of South Africa’s foremost actresses, portrays Shirley as a woman of astonishing fortitude and careworn grace. (In English and Afrikaans with subtitles) — B.B.