Teen Spirit (2019)

With his stylish directorial debut, Max Minghella creates a modern fairytale — scored to a lush, pop soundtrack — about a quiet 17-year-old girl who finds the support and self-confidence she needs to step into her own power.

Violet (Fanning) lives with her Polish-immigrant mother (Grochowska) on the brink of poverty in a small village on the Isle of Wight. With her father no longer in the picture, Violet helps out around the house, sings in the choir and works waitress shifts after school, passing her tips to her mother.

Whenever she can, she sneaks off to perform at a dingy pub to a thin audience of deadbeats. It’s there that she catches the attention of Vlad (Buric), a down-on-his-luck, boozed-up former opera star who now lacks purpose in life.

When a national singing competition comes to town to hold auditions, Vlad becomes Violet’s unlikely mentor and manager, accompanying her on a journey that takes the young singer all the way to the glamorous Teen Spirit finals in London. Along the way, Violet learns about singing, about loyalty and about the kind of resilience it takes to find success.

Teen Spirit stars Elle Fanning (The Beguiled, 20th Century Women), Zlatko Buric (Pusher, 2012) and Rebecca Hall (Christine, The Gift).

Directed and written by Max Minghella (The Social Network, “The Handmaid’s Tale”) and produced by Fred Berger (La La Land, Destroyer). Executive Producers are Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool), Max Minghella, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (I Think We’re Alone Now, Insidious film series), David Garett (Step Up, Happy-Go-Lucky), Dan Fisher (Low Tide), John Janick,

Anthony Seyler (Black Panther, A Star Is Born), Mickey Liddell (Jackie, I Can Only Imagine) and Pete Shilaimon (Anthropoid, Megan Leavey). Michael C. Constable (Free Fire, How to Build a Bird) served as Co-Producer.