Q&A with director Roberto Minervini at 7pm screenings on Friday and Saturday.

Don't miss the other two films in Roberto Minervini's Texas Trilogy.

Sara (Sara Carlson, playing herself) is part of a devout Christian goat-farming family with 12 children, all home-schooled and raised with strict moral guidance from the Scriptures. Set in a rural community that has remained isolated from technological advances and lifestyle influence—no phones, TVs, computers, or drunken-teen brawls—the subtly narrative film follows Sara and Colby, two 14-year-olds with vastly different backgrounds who are quietly drawn to each other. In Minervini’s intimate documentary-style portrait—the third in the Italian-born filmmaker’s Texas trilogy—Sara’s commitment to her faith is never questioned. It’s the power of the director’s nonintrusive handheld-camera style that reveals his protagonist’s spiritual and emotional inner turmoil about her place in a faith that requires women to be subservient to their fathers before becoming their husbands’ helpers. By also presenting an authentic, impartial portrayal of the Texas Bible Belt, Minervini allows humanity and complexity behind the stereotypes to show through. A Big World Pictures release.

New Directors/New Films, 2014

“More than the sum of its avowed influences, Stop the Pounding Heart evidences a supplicant style of filmmaking” -Jay Kuehner, Cinema Scope

“A moving portrait of feminism” -Chris Cabin, Slant Magazine