Adolescent identity, creativity and acceptance explored in “The Fits” at Detroit Institute of Arts’ Detroit Film
Updated Aug 18, 2016
August 18, 2016 (Detroit)—The Detroit Film Theatre (DFT) at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) presents “The Fits,” a fascinating look at adolescent girls’ sense of identity, creativity and group dynamics, showing Friday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 10 at 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2, 4:30 and 7 p.m.
Eleven-year-old tomboy Toni (played by 10-year-old Royalty Hightower) trains as a boxer with her brother at a community center in Cincinnati’s West End, but becomes fascinated by the dance team that practices there. Enamored by their strength and confidence, Toni eventually joins the group, eagerly absorbing routines, mastering drills and even piercing her ears to fit in. As she discovers the joys of dance and of female camaraderie, she struggles with her individual identity amid her newly defined social sphere.
Shortly after Toni joins the team, the captain faints during practice. By the end of the week, most of the girls on the team suffer episodes of fainting, swooning, moaning and shaking in a seemingly uncontrollable catharsis. People wonder if it could it be a problem with the water, something in the air or something very different. Soon the girls embrace these mysterious spasms, transforming them into a rite of passage. Toni fears “the fits” but is equally afraid of losing her place just as she’s found her footing. Caught between her need for control and her desire for acceptance, Toni must decide how far she will go to embody her new ideals.
Elliot Wilhelm, DIA film curator, calls the movie extraordinary, saying “There are not enough films, clearly, in which African-American communities are looked at in ways that are not stereotypical, and 'The Fits' tells a story that can be related to on a universal level, yet remains very specific.”
The girls were cast from the real-life Q-Kidz Dance Team from the West End of Cincinnati. Director Anna Rose Holmer said this allowed her and her colleagues to focus on the physicality and nuanced movements needed to tell the story from beginning to end. “Casting all of the girls from the same real-life dance team meant that we could emphasize the authentic sisterhood and collective memory making that young women experience when they bond on a team,” Holmer said in a statement. “We filmed ‘The Fits’ in an immersive environment, living on location and inviting the young cast to see themselves not just as performers, but as co-authors of the characters on screen.”
Tickets are $9.50 for general admission and $7.50 for members, seniors and students.
August 18, 2016 (Detroit)—The Detroit Film Theatre (DFT) at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) presents “The Fits,” a fascinating look at adolescent girls’ sense of identity, creativity and group dynamics, showing Friday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 10 at 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2, 4:30 and 7 p.m.
Eleven-year-old tomboy Toni (played by 10-year-old Royalty Hightower) trains as a boxer with her brother at a community center in Cincinnati’s West End, but becomes fascinated by the dance team that practices there. Enamored by their strength and confidence, Toni eventually joins the group, eagerly absorbing routines, mastering drills and even piercing her ears to fit in. As she discovers the joys of dance and of female camaraderie, she struggles with her individual identity amid her newly defined social sphere.
Shortly after Toni joins the team, the captain faints during practice. By the end of the week, most of the girls on the team suffer episodes of fainting, swooning, moaning and shaking in a seemingly uncontrollable catharsis. People wonder if it could it be a problem with the water, something in the air or something very different. Soon the girls embrace these mysterious spasms, transforming them into a rite of passage. Toni fears “the fits” but is equally afraid of losing her place just as she’s found her footing. Caught between her need for control and her desire for acceptance, Toni must decide how far she will go to embody her new ideals.
Elliot Wilhelm, DIA film curator, calls the movie extraordinary, saying “There are not enough films, clearly, in which African-American communities are looked at in ways that are not stereotypical, and 'The Fits' tells a story that can be related to on a universal level, yet remains very specific.”
The girls were cast from the real-life Q-Kidz Dance Team from the West End of Cincinnati. Director Anna Rose Holmer said this allowed her and her colleagues to focus on the physicality and nuanced movements needed to tell the story from beginning to end. “Casting all of the girls from the same real-life dance team meant that we could emphasize the authentic sisterhood and collective memory making that young women experience when they bond on a team,” Holmer said in a statement. “We filmed ‘The Fits’ in an immersive environment, living on location and inviting the young cast to see themselves not just as performers, but as co-authors of the characters on screen.”
Tickets are $9.50 for general admission and $7.50 for members, seniors and students.