Maineland

Gr 7 Up—This documentary follows Harry and Stella as they apply to, attend, and graduate from Fyreburg Academy. The film touches on the culture clash that arises when the teens move from a large Chinese city to a small town in Maine. The focus is mostly on the changes in Harry and Stella as they move through high school. Harry, a quiet loner, likes to explore topics that are taboo in China, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising. He's also a pianist, and much of the film is scored with his playing. Outgoing Stella spends less time on her studies and more time with her large circle of friends and doing extracurricular activities; she often ponders the differences between Chinese and American concepts of happiness. As the two travel between summers at home in China and school years in the United States, they struggle to balance personal hopes and dreams with parental expectations. The film is mostly in English, though some conversations and interviews with the teens' parents are in Mandarin, with subtitles.