Chicago Film Festival: 'We Grown Now' follows young boy's life in Cabrini Green amid poverty, crime
Rogers Park native Minhal Baig's movie to open on Wednesday
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago International Film Festival opens on Wednesday with the feature "We Grown Now."
It's the tender story of a young boy's life in Cabrini Green, and how a child's wonder can flourish, even in the middle of poverty and crime.
The director grew up in Rogers Park, and told ABC7's Hosea Sanders about creating her film.
"We Grown Now" is about two little boys who bond with a friendship in the projects and beyond. Minhal Baig talked to many people who lived in Cabrini with resilience and dreams.
"I was interested in their relationship to this place and exploring it from the perspective of children, because this was the only place they understood as home," Baig said. "What I found was that there's an incredible well of imagination children have, and they have this unique way of looking at things. That imagination also allows them to hope and not be too cynical about their lives. There was beauty and there was joy in this place, but there was also the reality of life, the conditions of living."
Baig also spoke about what the feedback has been, so far.
"I think the story, the friendship between the two boys, has had a lot of meaning for people. That's a universal theme, the loss of a childhood friendship is something pretty much everyone has experienced," Baig said.
The movie hits people in the heart near the end, but we won't spoil it.
"That was my hope. I think that's the story of displacement of this community that was once flourishing, a challenging place to live but one that had real community," Baig said.
Baig told ABC7 what if feels like, as a Chicagoan, to be a part of the film festival.
"I'm so excited. Everyone who's from Chicago, they're the ones who helped make this story happen, so it's really rewarding and fulfilling to have the opportunity for them to see the film," Baig said.
You can see "We Grown Now" on Wednesday, which is the opening night of the Chicago International Film Festival, at the Music Box Theatre.
The big block party to celebrate begins on Southport at 5 p.m., and the film is at 7 p.m.
