Deidra & Laney Rob a Train

Director: Sydney Freeland
Screenwriters: Shelby Farrell

Institute History

  • 2017 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Deidra Tanner is a whip-smart high school senior who sells answers to chemistry tests to save up for college, all the while helping her mother raise her stubborn little sister, Laney, and her brother, Jet. It’s more than your average teenager can handle, but Deidra runs a tight ship—that is, until Mom blows a mental gasket at her retail job and throws a high-end TV on the pavement. When Deidra realizes that jail time is ironically proving to be a healthy and therapeutic break from single parent life for her mom, her life is derailed. When she conjures up the will to face her new circumstances, Deidra focuses her talents on the train tracks in her own backyard.

Returning director, Sydney Freeland (Drunktown’s Finest, 2014 Sundance Film Festival) creates comedic alchemy with rising stars Ashleigh Murray (Deidra) and Rachel Crow (Laney) in this zany lemons-to-lemonade romp through kids facing tough times. Fiercely spirited, Deidra & Laney Rob a Train buoyantly flips the script on a world that keeps kids living across the tracks down on their luck.

Screens with Deer Squad: The Movie
Kelvin Peña, a charismatic 17-year-old from rural Pennsylvania, shares his story of going viral after befriending a group of wild deer in his backyard.

— Shari Frilot

Screening Details

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