I Am Good At Karate
Portrait of a young teenager with mental health issues who is passionate about karate. They wander around a housing estate in East Kent, locked in verbal and physical battles with a hallucinatory demon made of football shirts.
“Jess Dadds’ I Am Good At Karate breaks away from the British traditional social realism film style and carves out a new experimental path, using non-linear storytelling and expressionistic brushstrokes. The film’s protagonist is a lonesome kid, weighted down by their own paralysing self-deprecation and inability to blend in with their peers. Themes of mental health issues, disadvantaged economic background, and urban alienation are seamlessly weaved through this bleak coming-of-age story energised by syncopated rhythm and a warm, saturated colour palette. Filmed in 16mm with occasional inserts of hand-processed black and white 16mm film, I Am Good At Karate illustrates a young kid’s internal journey to self-acceptance amidst institutional failure.” — Ren Scateni
This film was chosen by Ren Scateni, Head of Programme at the Encounters Film Festival. They are also a freelance writer and curator mostly interested in experimental and artists’ moving image work. Their writing has appeared in ArtReview and ArtReview Asia, Hyperallergic, and MUBI Notebook. Ren is a Trustee of Alchemy Film & Arts.
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