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29 Jan – 8 Feb 2026

Children

Terence Davies | UK | 1978 | 44' | | IFFR 1994

Still, stylised portrait of a little boy who has to grow up among intolerant and boring adults. Robert Tucker is ten years old and attends a Catholic school somewhere in a grey city. In the pecking order of pupils, he is the underdog and has to tolerate insults and blows. The authoritarian teachers also harass him and things aren’t much better at home; his father mistreats his mother. The death of his father is a shock for Thomas because he cannot cope with the feelings of mourning combined with the pleasant sensation of liberation.Children, with its feeling for detail and attention for the ‘little stories’ of life, is clearly a precursor of later films by Davies.

Film details

Country of production
UK
Year
1978
Festival edition
IFFR 1994
Length
44"
Medium/Format
16mm

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