Sweet Thing
Streuner und Banditen

Lana Rockwell, Jabari Watkins
Sweet Thing | Streuner und Banditen by Alexandre Rockwell
USA 2020, Generation
© Lasse Tolbøll

Nico Rockwell, Lana Rockwell
Sweet Thing | Streuner und Banditen by Alexandre Rockwell
USA 2020, Generation
© Lasse Tolbøll

Lana Rockwell
Sweet Thing | Streuner und Banditen by Alexandre Rockwell
USA 2020, Generation
© Mélanie Akoka

Film poster
Sweet Thing | Streuner und Banditen by Alexandre Rockwell
USA 2020, Generation
For Billie and Nico, life with their father is a roller-coaster ride of playfulness and unease. When he is in the grip of alcohol, tears flow and their apparently idyllic family life collapses. Their mostly absent and irresponsible mother is not much help either. But their friendship with Malik, a boy of Billie’s age, frees them from their shackles. Together they embark on a journey full of intense moments of freedom. The colourful, emotional world of the three young people is depicted in kaleidoscopic black and white imagery, which opens space for their own notions of childhood. Alexandre Rockwell's tale portrays a profound sense of solidarity and deep love: for cinema and Billie Holiday, and also for risk and adventure.
With
- Lana Rockwell (Billie)
- Nico Rockwell (Nico)
- Jabari Watkins (Malik)
- Will Patton (Adam)
- Karyn Parsons (Eve)
- ML Josepher (Beaux)
Crew
Written and Directed by | Alexandre Rockwell |
Cinematography | Lasse Tolbøll |
Editing | Alan Wu |
Sound Design | Alexandre Rockwell |
Sound | Alan Wu |
Production Design | Andy Curtin |
Casting | Haley Elizabeth Anderson |
Assistant Director | Louis Anania |
Production Manager | Kenan Baysal |
Producers | Kenan Baysal, Louis Anania, Haley Elizabeth Anderson |
Executive Producers | Jennifer Beals, Will Patton, Sam Rockwell, Damien Newman, Hedy Groth Putegnat, Elaine Walsh |
World Sales
UDI - Urban Distribution International
Produced by
Black Horse Productions

Lana Rockwell, Karyn Parsons
The actresses at the premiere.
Sweet Thing · Generation · Feb 25, 2020

Jabari Watkins
The actor of the Kplus film.
Sweet Thing · Generation · Feb 25, 2020

Alexandre Rockwell
The director of the American film.
Sweet Thing · Generation · Feb 25, 2020

Alexandre Rockwell, Lana Rockwell
The director and the leading actress receiving the Crystal Bear for the Best Film awarded by members of the Children’s Jury in Generation Kplus.
Sweet Thing · Generation · Crystal Bear for the Best Film Kplus · Feb 29, 2020

Group photo
On stage at the award ceremony of the competition in Generation Kplus.
Sweet Thing · Generation · Crystal Bear for the Best Film Kplus · Feb 29, 2020
Alexandre Rockwell

While still a teenager, the filmmaker learnt his craft from his grandfather in Paris: the Russian animator Alexander Alexeieff and his wife, the American Claire Parker, originated pinscreen animation. Rockwell attended the Cinémathèque Française and began directing short films in the 1980s. His debut feature, Lenz, screened at the 1982 Berlinale. He made his international breakthrough with In the Soup in 1992 and went on to further success with Four Rooms, Somebody to Love and Little Feet. In 2017, he was appointed head of directing at the graduate film department of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Filmography
1979 Lenz 1982 Hero 1986 Sons 1992 In the Soup 1994 Somebody to Love 1995 Four Rooms · Les haricots sans sale; documentary 1998 Louis & Frank 2002 13 Moons 2006 L.A. Story; short film · Moe, Mo, & Buddha 2010 Pete Small Is Dead 2014 Little Feet · Sashinka; short film 2015 Home 2019 Sweet Thing
Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020