For the average teen, passing through adolescence is a trial rife with social obstacles and a frightening crossing of the chasm between the worlds of childhood bliss and the confusing complexities of adulthood. Then there are those who must deal with additional adolescent angst, such as Avery Klein-Cloud, an African-American teenager adopted by Jewish lesbians Tova and Travis. The family also includes mixed-race Rafi and Zay-Zay, an adorable Korean-American toddler. “A United Nations family,” quips Avery. It’s a loving and nurturing family, accomplished and thriving. However, Avery’s curiosity about her birth mother sets in motion a painful examination of the complex issues surrounding race and identity that upends the family’s rapport and threatens to derail Avery’s prospects. Once a track star, her performance suffers. She drops out of high school, leaves home, and gets into other types of teenage trouble while her moms and brother try to provide support, although they feel wounded and rejected. By the end of the film, Avery resolves some of her conflicts, and the family breach is on the mend. Director Nicole Opper has given us extraordinary access to Avery’s unique coming-of-age story, which is an example of how many African-Americans and mixed-race youths confront non-traditional notions of identity.

Filmmaker Q&A

Introduce yourself:
Nicole Opper most recently produced Linton Media’s five-part documentary series LSS for Here! Networks, America’s premium gay television network (aired Fall 2008). She was line producer of Macky Alston’s Emmy-nominated THE KILLER WITHIN, (premiered Toronto Int’l Film Festival 2006, aired on Discovery Channel 2007) and associate producer of Peter Miller’s Sacco and Vanzetti (premiered Full Frame 2006, First Run Features theatrical release 2007, Winner ‘Best Historical Film’ from the American Historical Association). Her documentary short, SONG OF HANNAH, is distributed by The National Center for Jewish Film. She has also directed and produced advocacy videos for Oxfam America, The Grameen Foundation and Positive Planet. Opper holds a BFA in Film Production from New York University and teaches filmmaking to high school students. She was born on Guam and grew up by the beach in San Diego. Recently she has taken up surfing on the Jersey Shore, and feels a bit closer to her roots.

What inspired this film?   How did you find your subjects?
I made a short film that involved young students at the Jewish day school Avery attended. I loved working with the kids so much that I proposed a film class, and Avery was in my very first class. She charmed me immediately. I wanted to know who this bright young woman was, who had a smile and a warm embrace for everyone who crossed her path. I also wondered what this was like for her, to be one of the only African-American students at school. Was she proud to be unique, as her adopted brother Rafi once said about himself? Or was she pressured to be the ambassador of her race, and at such a tender age?

My curiosity only grew when I finally met her family – two white Jewish moms – and in addition to her Puerto Rican and black brother Rafi, a younger Korean brother named Zay-Zay. As a gay woman who has always been interested in adoption, I saw myself in this family, and I knew that with so much of America increasingly identifying as multiracial or multicultural, their story was one we needed to hear. Six years later – when I felt up to the task and Avery was now old enough to express the nuanced and complex experience that is her life– we began the work of making this film together.

What were some of the biggest challenges/surprises?
I wasn’t prepared for the complete meltdown that Avery had halfway through our filming together. She moved out of her parents’ house and stopped returning calls, and I feared for her safety. When I did manage to reconnect with her, we made a pact. We had started this project together and we would finish it together. I started inviting Avery over to watch and respond to the scenes as we were cutting them. This was her story, and it was important that she feel ownership of the process. We began writing exercises to give us both perspective when nothing seemed to make sense, and much of that material ended upin the film. We were back to the roots of our relationship – as teacher and student – but this time we shared both roles; they were now interchangeable and will remain so long after this film is out in the world.

Who are some of your favorite filmmakers?
Lately I’ve been inspired by the work of Ramin Bahrani. French doc-maker Nicolas Philibert stands out for me, and I’m discovering Hirokazu Kore-eda’s films. A stand by is Mike Leigh. I caught Beadie Finzi’s ONLY WHEN I DANCE at Tribeca this year, and was deeply moved. I look forward to more work from Beadie.

What is your all time favorite documentary?
Spike Lee’s 4 LITTLE GIRLS, edited and produced by my NYU mentor/professor Sam Pollard, whose advice and feedback was indispensable to me during the making of this film.

What other projects are in the pipeline?
I’m developing two documentaries about young people who inspire me with their ingenuity and resilience; one story is at home and one in Mexico. I’m also developing a narrative about a powerful relationship that forms between an American college student and her home-stay “mom” during a semester abroad.

Why did you become a filmmaker?
Because it is the most enthralling way I’ve found to learn about the world.

What are some of your creative influences?
My family: my mom’s a classical pianist, my dad’s a photographer and novelist, and my grandfather’s a painter, so we were reared on art. The late great actress Priscilla Allen was one of my earliest mentors and taught me to listen to my creative impulses. Documentary filmmaker Judith Helfand influenced the way I want my films to move through the world and make an impact. My DP and close friend Jacob Okada has an artistic sensibility that I’ve learned from. Urban teenagers in Brooklyn and now Philly (my current residence) are inspiring and influencing me every day.

Did you go to film school?
Yes, NYU. But, like everyone else, my first project was my real film school.

What do you shoot on?
Currently the Panasonic DVX-100. Already outdated but I love the texture of it’s 24P mode.

What has been the most unexpected thing to happen since taking the film on the festival circuit?
Well we’re still early in the process, but I would have to say it’s the way Avery’s friends who appear in the film formed a tight-knit pack. Some she had been out of touch with for months, but they all came together for our six New York screenings (Tribeca Film Fest and beyond) to support Avery, interact with audiences and discover themselves as ‘characters’ and the impact they had on people in this way. Audiences have responded passionately to this film and I think her friends were proud to see the power their presence had in a society that rarely values what teenagers have to say.

Why did you want to screen your film at SILVERDOCS?
SILVERDOCS is the most important documentary festival in the country and I am excited to join with so many esteemed colleagues- many of whom are also my greatest teachers- to see what corners of the world and the human condition will be illuminated here.  I am honored that OFF AND RUNNING will be among the incredible line-up presented this year.