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MARIO AND NINI IS AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE AT THE PRIVATE USE RATE FOR ALL EDUCATIONAL PURCHASES
When Chloe gets a job working with children struggling in class, 8 year old Mario and Nini stand out. She encourages them to make a documentary and they choose gang culture as a theme. But as the bonds between them grow, the emotional stakes get higher as the boys slide towards a life of crime. Filmed over 7 years, this disturbing documentary takes a fly on the wall view of the shaping of young minds in a world where childhood no longer exists. "Nini stop talking!" the voice of an exasperated teacher cuts through a bustling classroom. "I will fight you", 8 year old Mario shouts across the room. Mario and Nini both struggle with reading and writing, find it hard to concentrate and are becoming cheeky. When Chloe teaches them separately, they're excited to open up to the camera about their feelings. "Are we the stupidest kids in the school?" they ask giggling. But Chloe isn't always there. "Why was I being good in the first place?" Mario asks in tears when he is banned from the school trip. "I'll be bad I don't care. I'm struggling and miss wants me to be perfect. Forget this".
Age 10- "Yesterday my teacher said that I'm never coming back to this school again", Mario admits sadly. "I was out of control, just out of control". Mario and Nini's parents frequently receive phone calls from the school. But Mario's parents are more worried about the friends he hangs out with at night on the street. "To tell the truth it feels good. It makes me feel like I'm special", Mario says.
Age 11- "After those murders, I stopped to think 'what is my area turning into?'" says Nini. "My friend got stabbed six times over a fake £20 note". Chloe encourages the boys to continue with their documentary. That's when the boys introduce Chloe to their crew. "One time, one of the olders wanted us to knock out one guy so they gave us £20", says one 11 year old. Whilst the so-called 'older' gang members admit that "first it's not crime, it's just fun. But once you're in, it's your group of friends, it's your life".
Age 13 - "I'm feeling like I've lost you both now", Chloe says as the boys laugh and swear instead of editing their documentary. "Stick and twist", Nini says sticking his flick knife into a can of 7up "that's what you do with a body". Horrified, Chloe takes the boys and a friend camping. "I've never been on a big hike before!" says Nini's friend. "You have to go 10 miles for a police station!", they cry astonished, excitedly eating berries from a bush. But it’s time to return to the city, where there's "so much pressure on us".
"When we were camping I was happy because I could just be myself. I was free", Mario says. "If you're not there to talk to it's all crammed inside me. All the hate. And I always try to show love. But love will get you killed", Mario says without flinching, "that's one thing I know - love will get you killed".
Mario and Nini now both hope to join the military. But their words are a chilling portrait of the state of innocence today.
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"What makes a gangster? The excellent Mario and Nini went a long way towards showing us" - THE GUARDIAN
"An amazing piece of work; shocking, revealing, insightful, totally unavoidable in its message and impact" - ROD MORGAN, former chairman of the Youth Justice Board
"A remarkable documentary..." - THE TIMES
Chloe Ruthven
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| Making the film |
"This film tells the disturbing story of two boys growing up in a world where childhood is under threat, and asks fundamental questions about how we view and raise our children. The film came out of a deep concern about the children I was teaching who were becoming alienated from the educational system as young as seven and turned to the culture of the street as a place to belong. I would like this to be seen by educators, politicians, teachers and parents, so that perhaps we can start to have the constructive conversations that might stop these negative cycles."
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| The Producers |
Chloe Ruthven works with children at risk of social exclusion, using film to empower them in bringing about social and emotional change in their own lives. She trained in Fine Art at St. Martin’s School of Art and exhibited as a painter for several years. As well as making films with specific groups of young people, she runs a London-wide programme teaching school children to make films. Mario and Nini is her first feature length film. Olly Lambert's credits include producing and directing the 'Cutting Edge: Gridlock and Road Rage', transmitted by Channel Four. |
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