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Sounds Like Teen Spirit
Documentary that follows the children from across Europe competing in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
An affectionate documentary which follows child performers to Rotterdam for the junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest. The contestants are expected to compose their own songs, and perform in their national language. They include a pretty Bulgarian Buffy fanatic, a mini George Michael from Cyprus, some gangly Belgian teen rockers and a girl living in a poky apartment in war-torn Georgia.
Martin Hoyle, Financial Times: Never be afraid of your inner Scrooge... Some performances prompt the sort of embarrassment one feels at US beauty competitions for toddlers. Indeed, despite its vaunted European-ness, Junior Eurovision seems conducted mainly in a transatlantic variant of that offshore Euro-language English, a triumphant affirmation of the Americanisation of global youth culture. (Verdict: two stars out of five)
James Christopher, the Times: The documentary has a thoroughly dismal premise but it is a remarkable and deeply affecting watch. Jamie J. Johnson, the young director, shadows earnest young contestants as they prepare to sing their hearts out for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, a competition taken far more seriously in ragtag Eastern Europe than it is west of Berlin. Needless to say the film is infinitely more revealing than the tear-stained event itself. What makes Johnson's candid teenage victims - and losers - so compelling is their guileless ambition. (Verdict: four stars out of five) ·
