Shot at Rowan University for a TV production class, Kelli is a sensitively directed portrait of an American college student.
The subject is Kelly Martino, a 19-year-old engineering student at Rowan. She was born in South Korea and adopted by an American couple when she was five months old. In intimate interviews, she discusses how she first noticed she didn't look like all the other kids in daycare, and the time she first realized she was attracted to girls.
Remarkably, the filmmakers gained access to an audio recording that ends up being the centerpiece of the film. We hear Kelli coming out to her mom. It's a very awkward and uncomfortable scene to listen to. Coming-out videos have become popular on YouTube, but this one has an extraordinary impact because it wasn't rehearsed but captured.
Kelli's parents say some things that must be hard for a teenager to deal with, but I'm sure it's hard for them, too. The film was shot in 2008, and it's important to remember that these stories are still going on in America today.
