Amy George

Amy George is a 2011 Canadian microbudget film written, produced and directed by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas. The film tells the story of the 13-year-old Jesse who wants to be an artist, but believes that his mundane middle class life has left him unprepared. After reading a book on what it takes to be a "true-artist", he sets out looking for risk, ecstasy, wildness and women. It premiered at the Wisconsin Film Festival on April 3, 2011 and had its Canadian premiere in the Canada First! section of the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. Plot Thirteen-year-old Jesse is assigned a school project: a photographic self-portrait intended to portray one's self without resorting to literal representation. Jesse lives with his parents, Sabi and Tim, in the lefty, middle class Toronto neighbourhood of Riverdale. A quiet and distant only-child with budding artistic aspirations, Jesse is inspired by the assignment to look for excitement and meaning in the world around him. Wielding a newly acquired 35mm camera, Jesse sets out to capture his surroundings, but soon realizes the undramatic nature of his family, neighbourhood and existence. Meanwhile, Sabi and Tim find themselves questioning Jesse's developing character as they watch him abandon his childhood personality and mature into an uncommunicative adolescent. Frustrated by his lack of inspiration, Jesse discovers a book in the school library which advises him, "You can never be a real artist until you have made love to a woman." Taking the text at face value and with the encouragement of a family friend, Jesse begins to look for new experiences, both foreign and adult, which leads him to an encounter with his young, female neighbour, Amy. Peering into her bedroom window at night, he snaps a quick photograph of her.