Dear Lemon Lima,

(USA, 2009, 87 mins, 35mm)

Producers: Melissa Lee, Jonako Donley
Writer: Suzi Yoonessi
Cinematographer: Sarah Levy
Editors: Mara Farrington, Matthew Linnell
Music: Sasha Gordon
Cast: Savannah Wiltfong, Shayne Topp, Melissa Leo, Beth Grant

In Person: Suzi Yoonessi

“As refreshing as an Astro-pop on a summer’s day,” is how the Los Angeles Times described Iranian American director Suzi Yoonessi’s winning debut after its sensational premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival, where lead actor Shayne Topp won the Outstanding Performance Award (the film would later go on to win the Audience Award at the Woodstock Film Festival). “Today I read the ‘un’ section of the dictionary and learned a lot about myself: I am: unpopular, unwanted, and unlovable,” scrawls 13-year-old misfit Vanessa into her dear diary, studded with rainbow hearts and cupcakes, and works her fortune-telling device (covered with unicorns, of course) until it gives her the answer it wants: that Philip, class dreamboat and first-class narcissist, loves her. Half Yup’ik Eskimo, Vanessa is the token minority at a prestigious private high school in suburban Alaska (Philip’s family helped her get a scholarship), ignored by most other students and only accepted by a motley crew of fellow outsiders, slackers and geeks. When Philip finally dumps her, Vanessa hits upon an odd idea to win him back: to lead a team in the “Snowstorm Survivor Challenge,” a high-school contest that “incorporates” (or appropriates) Native Alaskan survival techniques, and hopefully impress him with her skills. An assured comedy about gawky adolescence that doesn’t, despite its cuteness, sugarcoat the legacy of bigotry against Native Alaskans or the toxic overprotectiveness of modern parents, DEAR LEMON LIMA, features winning performances by part-Yup’ik (and first-time actor) Savanah Wiltfong and veteran Beth Grant (reprising her role from DONNIE DARKO) as an overenthusiastic school booster.

-- Frako Loden

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