Best of Cinematic Youth
The best of performances or narratives involving children or young teens on the big and small screen (includes some documentaries and animated titles).
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- DirectorJacco GroenStarsSandy TalagJohanna ter SteegeJohn ArcillaA look at child prostitution in Manila.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceJackie CooganThe Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsMargarita TerekhovaFilipp YankovskiyIgnat DaniltsevA dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsSaoirse RonanCate BlanchettEric BanaA sixteen-year-old girl who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsElle FanningAlice EnglertAnnette BeningA look at the lives of two teenage girls - inseparable friends Ginger and Rosa -- growing up in 1960s London as the Cuban Missile Crisis looms, and the pivotal event that comes to redefine their relationship.
- DirectorDaniel BarnzStarsElle FanningPatricia ClarksonFelicity HuffmanConfounded by her clashes with the seemingly rule-obsessed world, a troubled young girl seeks enlightenment from her unconventional drama teacher.
- DirectorBrendan LyleStarsEllie Darcey-AldenTom AllwintonSam knows two things - the forest and himself. One day, like any other, his world is rocked with the arrival of Isobel. Naive and mysterious, she brings disharmony, adrenaline and a mercurial friendship to Sam's world. Woodland rain falls quick and hard, and they soon learn that nothing ever stays the same.
- DirectorRebecca MillerStarsMiranda RhyneCharlotte Eve BlytheAnna ThomsonRebecca Miller's riveting drama examines how two sisters cope with their mother's mental illness.
- DirectorBahman GhobadiStarsSoran EbrahimAvaz LatifSaddam Hossein FeysalNear the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of an American invasion, refugee children like 13-year-old Kak (Ebrahim), gauge and await their fate.
- DirectorBahman GhobadiStarsAyoub AhmadiRojin YounessiAmaneh Ekhtiar-diniYoung Iranian Kurdish siblings try to save the youngest of them, who is seriously ill.
- DirectorLynne RamsayStarsTommy FlanaganMandy MatthewsWilliam EadieA naïve young lad navigates the dirty squalid streets of 1973 Glasgow and the poor youth around him.
- DirectorDeniz Gamze ErgüvenStarsGünes SensoyDoga Zeynep DogusluTugba SungurogluWhen five orphan girls are seen innocently playing with boys on a beach, their scandalized conservative guardians confine them while forced marriages are arranged.
- DirectorD.J. CarusoStarsChandler CanterburyAnnalise BassoRadha MitchellTwo kids befriend each other after being left stripped nude in a lake as the victims of an immature summer camp prank. They run away from camp and for three days learn more about each other than they've ever known before.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsJared GilmanKara HaywardBruce WillisTwo 12-year-olds, who live on an island, fall in love with each other and elope into the wilderness. While people set out on a search mission, a violent storm approaching them catches their attention.
- DirectorHarmony KorineStarsNick SuttonJacob SewellLara ToshLonely residents of a tornado-stricken Ohio town wander the deserted landscape trying to fulfill their boring, nihilistic lives.
- DirectorZana BriskiRoss KauffmanStarsKochiAvijit HalderShanti DasTwo documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district.
- DirectorJeffrey D. BrownStarsGillian AndersonDavid ArquettePriyanka BoseA girl risks everything for freedom after being trafficked from her mountain village in Nepal to a brothel in India.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsEmily WatsonRobert CarlyleJoe BreenAn Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.
- DirectorBenh ZeitlinStarsQuvenzhané WallisDwight HenryLevy EasterlyFaced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.
- DirectorMartin BellStarsAnnieEddieAntoineGritty documentary that looks at the lives of teenagers living on the streets of Seattle.
- DirectorSamantha MortonStarsMolly WindsorRobert CarlyleSusan LynchA film that gives a child's eye view of the U.K.'s government-run care system for orphans and children in danger.
- DirectorPeter KosminskyStarsBrooke KinsellaColin SalmonBilly GeraghtyA British schoolgirl struggles to come to terms with the horrific and disgusting sexual abuse inflicted upon her by the adults in her life. When she resorts to self-harm to escape her troubles, a caring teacher tries to get her some help.
- DirectorLenny AbrahamsonStarsBrie LarsonJacob TremblaySean BridgersA little boy is held captive in a room with his mother since his birth, so he has never known the world outside.
- DirectorBrian PercivalStarsKyle WardIan HartLouise DelamereAll fourteen-year-old Robbie ever wanted was a Dad. Instead he gets something very different... a son.
- DirectorRichard PorterStarsRuth GemmellMax JonesWilliam TapleySeven year old Amy whose recently separated parents hold differing views on her social development is enthralled in her world of make believe. One afternoon when her father comes to visit this situation comes to a head, with disturbing consequences for Amy.
- DirectorMichelle MétivierA woman's only child is kidnapped by her ex-husband not once, but twice. The decade-long search for her daughter culminates in a gut-wrenching dangerous chase to South America to steal her back from her father who has strong ties to the local mob.
- DirectorRoss PartridgeStarsRoss PartridgeOona LaurenceJess WeixlerWhen a man meets a young girl in a parking lot he attempts to help her avoid a bleak destiny by initiating her into the beauty of the outside world. The journey shakes them in ways neither expects.
- DirectorP.J. HoganStarsJeremy SumpterJason IsaacsOlivia WilliamsThe Darling family children receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Never Never Land where an ongoing war with the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsMiki ImaiToshirô YanagibaYoko HonnaA twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsBruce WillisHaley Joel OsmentToni ColletteMalcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsMel GibsonJoaquin PhoenixRory CulkinA widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.
- DirectorAnjelica HustonStarsJennifer Jason LeighRon EldardGlenne HeadlyA mother and daughter find their lives adversely affected when a new man enters the picture. Will their family ever be what they expect?
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJames MasonShelley WintersSue LyonA middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old girl.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsLiesel MatthewsEleanor BronLiam CunninghamSara is sent to a strict boarding school after her father enlists in WWI. When he is presumed dead, the headmistress, knowing she will not receive any more money, forces the girl to become a servant.
- DirectorMarina de VanStarsMissy KeatingMarcella PlunkettPádraic DelaneyIn a remote Irish village, police are called to the scene of a bloody massacre, but they ignore the lone survivor's claim that the house was responsible for the carnage that killed her parents and brother.
- DirectorSheila PyeStarsMaribel VerdúIvana BaqueroAinara NietoIn 1933 political activist and champion for sexual freedom Aurora Rodriguez killed her Utopian 'project' and brilliant young daughter Hildegart. Selectively bred and educated by Aurora to become the world's first truly free woman to lead humanity into a new era, Aurora could bear finding out that Hildegart wanted independence, rather than following the fate her mother systematically raised her to follow. On the surface, Hildegart's strength and confidence was unbreakable; she published books and essays about taboo subjects and sexual topics, gained power at the leader of the young Socialist party. and started the World League for Sexual Reform in Spain. This is a film about the human propensity to kill the thing that it loves the most.
- DirectorCraig William MacneillStarsClay McLeod ChapmanSam BorenzweigLauren BondLoosely based on the dark tales of HP Lovecraft, "Late Bloomer" is a compelling and humorous journey through a young boy's first sexual education class.
- DirectorJordan ScottStarsEva GreenJuno TempleMaría ValverdeA look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite boarding school.
- DirectorLucile HadzihalilovicStarsZoé AuclairLea BridarolliBérangère HaubrugeA look inside an offbeat boarding school for young girls.
- DirectorSteph GreenStarsOlutunji Ebun-ColeSimon O'DriscollFionn O'SheaCaptures the experience of being the new kid in school through the eyes of Joseph, a nine year-old African boy.
- DirectorJochen Alexander FreydankStarsJulia JägerCedric EichTamay Bulut ÖzvatanA German mother lies to her son about where the Nazis are sending their Jewish neighbors.
- DirectorTomm MooreNora TwomeyStarsEvan McGuireBrendan GleesonMick LallyA young boy in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids is beckoned to adventure when a celebrated master illuminator arrives with an ancient book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers.
- DirectorTomm MooreStarsDavid RawleBrendan GleesonLisa HanniganBen, a young Irish boy, and his little sister Saoirse, a girl who can turn into a seal, go on an adventure to free the fairies and save the spirit world.
- DirectorLéa PoolStarsKarine VanassePascale BussièresPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicIn the year 1963, an awkward thirteen-year-old girl comes of age during her escapism into the world of cinema, with potentially dangerous results.
- DirectorEva IonescoStarsIsabelle HuppertAnamaria VartolomeiGeorgetta LeahuWhen Hanah re-emerges in the life of her pre-pubescent daughter, she comes with a strange, yet attractive proposition: she needs her own girl to pose for her in ways that would later take by surprise the Parisian art world of the 1970s.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsRyan O'NealTatum O'NealMadeline KahnDuring the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
- DirectorNathan CoetzeeStarsGeorgie RodgersBenedict ClarkeJason BrasierA modern interpretation of William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies', set within the confines of a locked car.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsJodie FosterScott BaioFlorence GarlandThe classic gangster story of Bugsy Malone told with an all-child cast.
- DirectorElem KlimovStarsAleksey KravchenkoOlga MironovaLiubomiras LauceviciusAfter finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
- DirectorNicolas GessnerStarsJodie FosterMartin SheenAlexis SmithA thirteen-year-old girl, who lives with her absentee father, befriends a disabled teenage amateur magician and invites him, gradually, into her tenuous struggle against a predatory local neighbor.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDirk BogardeMargaret LeclerePamela FranklinBritish children hide Mother's death. Then, Father returns.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.
- DirectorAsia ArgentoStarsAsia ArgentoDylan SprouseCole SprouseSeven-year-old Jeremiah is pulled from his foster home and thrown into a troubled life on the road with his teenage mother, Sarah.
- DirectorLee Jong EonOunie LecomteStarsKim Sae-ronKo Ah-sungSol Kyung-guYoung Jinhee is taken by her father to an orphanage near Seoul. He leaves her there never to return, and she struggles to come to grips with her fate. Jinhee desperately believes her father will come back for her.
- DirectorMartin StirlingStarsMichelle ArcherLily-Rose AslandogduIt features a young British girl experiencing the effects of a hypothetical civil war on the streets of London. Everything depicted in the video was based on the factual accounts of children in Syria.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBertil GuvePernilla AllwinKristina AdolphsonTwo young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
- DirectorEric D. HowellStarsNoah Kol BalfourRaven BellefleurImmonuel GraceAn allegory about the moment when a child is forced to choose between ideology and humanity while living and playing in a dangerous war environment.
- DirectorCarlos SauraStarsAna TorrentConchita PérezMayte SanchezIn the twilight of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, an 8-year-old orphan and her two sisters find shelter in the house of their stern aunt and try their best to acclimatize to a new reality. Can they summon up the courage to grow up?
- DirectorVíctor EriceStarsFernando Fernán GómezTeresa GimperaAna TorrentIn 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein (1931), a sensitive seven year-old girl living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world.
- DirectorJaime de ArmiñánStarsHéctor AlterioAna TorrentLuis PolittiIn a town near Salamanca, an eccentric 60-year-old widower is captivated by an imp, a precocious 13-year-old. Alejandro is wealthy and alone, passing time with music, chess, and his shotgun. Gregoria (Goyita), the daughter of a weak-willed policeman and his bullying wife, is a budding naturalist who conspires to meet Alejandro. Although he knows the village is talking, Alejandro spends time with Goyita, on walks, horseback rides, and dinners. He's enchanted and tells his friend the village priest that he's living for the first time. Goyita makes new demands on Alejandro, and he must decide how to be true to his ethics and to this Platonic yet highly-charged relationship.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsYûya YagiraAyu KitauraHiei KimuraIn a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
- DirectorSiddiq BarmakStarsMarina GolbahariZubaida SaharKhwaja NaderAfter the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the restriction of women in public life, a pre-teen girl is forced to masquerade as a boy in order to find work to support her mother and grandmother.
- DirectorCharles LaughtonStarsRobert MitchumShelley WintersLillian GishA self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsChristian FriedelErnst JacobiLeonie BeneschStrange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. Who is responsible?
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsAlfonso MejíaRoberto CoboEstela IndaA group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, as the morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.
- DirectorCraig William MacneillStarsDavid MorseJared BreezeRainn WilsonAn intimate portrait of a 9-year-old sociopath's growing fascination with death.
- DirectorHoward ZieffStarsAnna ChlumskyMacaulay CulkinDan AykroydVada is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. When Vada's father hires Shelly, a makeup expert, and begins to fall in love, Vada is outraged and does everything in her power to split them up.
- DirectorBronwen HughesStarsMichelle TrachtenbergRosie O'DonnellGregory SmithHarriet M. Welsch is a spy. But when her friends find her secret notebook, the tables are turned on her. Can she win them back and still keep on going with the spy business?
- DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsVictoria HarrisBerta RosIrma MonroigA young girl wakes up and tells her sister that their mother has returned home.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsNancy KellyPatty McCormackGage ClarkeRhoda Penmark seems like your average, sweet eight-year-old girl. After her rival at school dies in mysterious circumstances at the school picnic, her mother starts to suspect that Rhoda was responsible.
- DirectorHarold D. SchusterStarsRoddy McDowallJane DarwellStanley ClementsBecause of the war, a 12-year-old boy from England, Hugh, is sent to live with the Andrews family in Ohio. Don, the Andrews' 11-year-old son, eagerly accepts the English boy and is happy when his school friends do the same. But he isn't so happy when things begin to change and his father forgoes their evening game of Chinese Checkers to play chess with Hugh who shows himself to be a formidable scholar. He impresses Don's girlfriend Betty and becomes more popular with the boys than Don was...and Don is beginning to think that Hugh is too much of a good thing. Don gets downright depressed and decides to run away. Uh, oh, here comes Hugh.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsBrooke ShieldsKeith CarradineSusan SarandonA preteen girl lives as a prostitute in New Orleans in 1917.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsJoBeth WilliamsHeather O'RourkeCraig T. NelsonA family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.
- DirectorTibor TakácsStarsStephen DorffChrista DentonLouis TrippKids left home alone accidentally unleash a horde of malevolent demons from a mysterious hole in their suburban backyard.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsWil WheatonRiver PhoenixCorey FeldmanA writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
- DirectorGil KenanStarsMitchel MussoSam LernerSpencer LockeThree teens discover that their neighbor's house is really a living, breathing, scary monster.
- DirectorGabor CsupoStarsJosh HutchersonAnnaSophia RobbZooey DeschanelA preteen's life turns upside down when he befriends the new girl in school and they imagine a whole new fantasy world to escape reality.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsMax RecordsCatherine O'HaraForest WhitakerYearning for escape and adventure, a young boy runs away from home and sails to an island filled with creatures that take him in as their king.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsAsa ButterfieldChloë Grace MoretzChristopher LeeIn 1931 Paris, an orphan living in the walls of a train station gets wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
- DirectorBrian PercivalStarsSophie NélisseGeoffrey RushEmily WatsonWhile subjected to the horrors of World War II Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. In the basement of her home, a Jewish refugee is being protected by her adoptive parents.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsKodi Smit-McPheeChloë Grace MoretzRichard JenkinsA bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.
- DirectorJohn HillcoatStarsViggo MortensenCharlize TheronKodi Smit-McPheeIn a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.
- DirectorDarrell RoodtStarsWhoopi GoldbergLeleti KhumaloMiriam MakebaSouth African teenagers fight against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising.
- DirectorJoseph RubenStarsMacaulay CulkinElijah WoodWendy CrewsonA young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and becomes friends with his cousin, a boy of the same age who shows increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.
- DirectorDanny DeVitoStarsDanny DeVitoRhea PerlmanMara WilsonA girl gifted with a keen intellect and psychic powers uses both to get even with her callous family and free her kindly schoolteacher from the tyrannical grip of a sadistic headmistress.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsAnne BancroftPatty DukeVictor JoryThe story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsAdolphe MenjouDorothy DellCharles BickfordBookie Sorrowful Jones receives a little girl as an IOU.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsJennifer JonesCharles BickfordWilliam Eythe14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, living in a small town in the south of 1850s France, claims to have seen a divine vision, prompting extreme skepticism, concern from her family, and religious and political turmoil.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsLamberto MaggioraniEnzo StaiolaLianella CarellIn post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
- DirectorDavid SladeStarsPatrick WilsonElliot PageSandra OhHayley's a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff's a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff's place. Jeff thinks it's his lucky night. He's in for a surprise.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJeff BridgesJennifer TillyJodelle FerlandBecause of the actions of her irresponsible parents, a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination.
- DirectorMarc CaroJean-Pierre JeunetStarsRon PerlmanDaniel EmilforkJudith VittetA scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
- DirectorJames Ronald WhitneyStarsJames Ronald WhitneyMelvin JustDenise BensonAn in-depth look at the director James Ronald Whitney's family history of incest spanning at least three generations and the devastating consequences that include drug abuse and alcoholism.
- DirectorMichael AriasHiroaki AndôStarsKazunari NinomiyaYû AoiYûsuke IseyaTwo boys defend Treasure Town and Yakuza try to take over and clear it for new development.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge C. ScottTrish Van DevereMelvyn DouglasAfter experiencing tragic personal losses, a music professor rents a Seattle mansion, haunted by a slain boy.