Film Snail

New Boy
New Boy

6.5

New Boy

NR·2007·11m

Summary

A young African boy with a haunting back story starts school in Ireland, and finds out quickly exactly what it means to be the new kid. Winner of Best Narrative Short at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival and nominated for an Oscar.

Crew

Director, Writer

Steph Green

Writer

Roddy Doyle

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Geronimo1967

March 21, 2024

7

When "Joseph" (Ulutunji Ebun-Cole) arrives at his new Irish junior school, he is immediately reminded of his school at home (somewhere in Africa) and of the trauma that he experienced there that rather dwarves the petty bullying that he is soon experiencing from two of his classmates. Luckily, the young "Hazel" (Sinead Maguire) takes a bit of a shine to their new boy and her behaviour might just offer a conduit for all to move past their initial hostilities and share a laugh. Aside from anything else, it makes you remember that being a primary school teacher is no walk in the park, but mostly it's a reminder that it's not always the easiest path to make friends - picking fights is often simpler. The kids do quite well here, with a minimum of dialogue, and I did quite enjoy the simplicity of the story.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$94,000.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Keywords

immigrant
gun
trauma
bullying
racism
african
ireland
school teacher
based on short story
schoolboy
african boy
discrimination
woman director
new student
teachers and students
british school system
short film
school bullying
irish