Remember when summer felt infinite? This is that feeling, bottled.
A look into the lives of two eleven year-olds spending a summer weekend fighting off boredom. Based on Kao's own memories of a cherished childhood in Iowa during the 60s and 70s, when the only structure to his and his friends play was having enough matches for the afternoon, and how to get your bike-chain back on in a hurry.
Direction
Kao turns memory into lived experience, not postcard.
Production
Iowa locations that feel like they time-traveled intact.
Acting
Actual kids being actual kids—no Disney Channel energy.
Director
Jeff Kao
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kao shot this across actual Iowa locations from his childhood; the house is his family's. The 'matches for the afternoon' detail comes verbatim from his production notes.
Released into a landscape of loud children's entertainment, this 53-minute quiet rebellion predicted the later 'slow cinema for families' movement—think The Florida Project's gentler grandparent.
US
