# Pahokee (film)

Pahokee is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan about the small rural town of Pahokee located in the Florida Everglades. The film uses an observational approach to follow four teenagers as they navigate their senior year of high school. The film premiered in the United States at the Sundance Film Festival and internationally at Visions du Réel in Switzerland.

## Synopsis

The film follows four high school students at Pahokee High School, a school that is integral to the surrounding community. The film follows Na'Kerria, a high school cheerleader who is hoping to become Miss Pahokee High School. She spends her senior year multi-tasking between working at a fried fish restaurant, cheerleading, campaigning for the pageant, and getting her schoolwork done. Next is Jocabed, the youngest daughter of Mexican immigrants and a high-achieving student who is working to finish the year at the top of her class and go to her dream school, the University of Florida. Next, Junior is a father to a one-year-old baby girl who is struggling to balance schoolwork, marching band, and the demands of parenthood. Finally, BJ is the football team co-captain who is a budding leader on and off the field. With the help of his parents, he hopes to attend college and possibly play football there.

## Reception

As of February 2022 the film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Jen Yamato of the Los Angeles Times says, "with a patient and unobtrusive eye, filmmakers Lucas and Bresnan paint impressionistic portraits of a quartet of charismatic teenagers over the course of a pivotal school year.” Variety hailed the film as, "lively and rousing as a generational snapshot, buoyed by the lovable, resilient kids at its heart."
Following the film's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter said "Pahokee is the best documentary I've seen this Sundance. It's 'America To Me' only verité and in a 112-minute micro.”

## Screenings

| Festival | Award |
| Encounters Film Festival | |
| Lost Weekend XII Film Festival | |
| Sidewalk Film Festival | Special Prize for Documentary Filmmaking |
| Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival | |
| Guanajuato International Film Festival | |
| Champs-Élysées Film Festival | Prix du Jury |
| Oak Cliff Film Festival | |
| Olhar De Cinema | |
| Dokufest (Kosovo) | |
| American Film Festival (Poland) | |
| Doclands Documentary Film Festival | |
| Montclair Film Festival | Special Prize for Cinematography |
| Bentonville Fim Festival | |
| Maryland Film Festival | |
| San Francisco International Film Festival | |
| Sarasota Film Festival | |
| Florida Film Festival | |
| Independent Film Festival Boston | |
| Ashland Independent Film Festival | Best Editing; Documentary Feature |
| Visions du Réel International Film Festival Nyon | |
| SXSW Film Festival | |
| Miami Film Festival | Knight Made in MIA Award |
| Cinematek | |
| Indiecork Film Festival | |
| Hamptons International Film Festival | |
| New Hampshire Film Festival | |
| Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival | |
| Virginia Film Festival | |
| Naples Film Festival | |
| Smells Like Teen Spirit Film Festival | |
| Panorama Internacional Coisa De Cinema | |
| Philadelphia Film Society |