Bijna 18

Batanay (17) is in jail for holding up a video store, Giovanni (16) is doing time for shoplifting and a fight, while "street nigga" Rigel (17) thinks the other Rotterdam kids sharing the cells with him in De Hartelborgt juvenile detention center are "smalltime." The question is, what's going to change when they turn 18? We follow them during their time in the facility, between Batanay's conviction and his release. Daily routines - meals, exercise, aggression group therapy, visits - are alternated with the boys' perspectives as they let the viewer in on their thoughts. They talk about the importance of money, friends and their mothers, and about the downward spiral of harassment, assault and hold-ups. It's not allowed to show the boys identifiably on-screen while they are locked up, so we only see a part of their face or body, which adds a sense of oppressiveness to the film. As a result, the impact is huge when the doors open and we finally see their faces outside. How will the boys deal with their newfound freedom? (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)