Pahokee is a small town in southern Florida where the majority of the population are African Americans, and nearly everyone else is Latino, mainly from Mexico. There is a sense of community in this town where everyone knows everyone else. Although Pahokee is struggling with both economic and gun problems, there is also a lot of hope for four teenagers who are entering adulthood. We see their daily joys and worries, as well as their struggles: in sports, in beauty contests, and in their attempts to get into college. This warm yet acerbic portrait of the town provides—in the style of Friedrick Wisemann’s documentaries—an in-depth social analysis of contemporary America. The fruit of several years’ work by Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan, the film—an award winner at festivals in Miami and Paris—gives us an opportunity to fully immerse ourselves in the reality of Florida, to breathe in its air, to better understand its local flavor and customs.
Miami FF 2019 - Knight Made in MIA Feature Film Award; Champs-Élysées FF 2019 - Jury Award
Patrick Bresnan is a visual artist, director, producer, and cinematographer. He graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, and he studied filmmaking through an apprenticeship with Clare Rojas and Barry McGee. His short film The Rabbit Hunt has won more than twenty awards at festivals around the world. He regularly works with his partner, Ivete Lucas.
2016 The Send-Off (short)
2017 The Rabbit Hunt (short)
2017 Roadside Attraction (short)
2018 Skip Day (short)
2019 Pahokee (doc.)
Ivete Lucas is a director, producer, and editor. She was born in Brazil, grew up in Mexico, and currently lives and works in Austin, Texas, where, over the last decade, she has been making documentaries and video art, usually with her partner, Patrick Bresnan. Their previous film, the short Skip Day, was an award winner at the Cannes Festival. Pahokee is their full-length debut.
2011 The Curse and the Jubilee (short)
2013 Ex-Votos (short)
2016 The Send-Off (short)
2018 Skip Day (short)
2019 Pahokee (doc.)