A soul-stirring portrayal of the ten-year-old Jojo, highlighting the child’s need for parental love as well as his infinite, unrelenting joy of living and the beautiful moments that life can offer. Dutch candidate for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award!
Ten-year-old Jojo finds a baby jackdaw that has fallen out of its nest and decides to adopt it. He finds pleasure in looking after the bird, but his father is opposed to the idea and Jojo has to hide his new pet. He likes to hang out with his friend Yenthe, who incessantly chews a large blue bubble gum, and the rest of the water polo team. Although recently deprived of his mother, he yearns for a normal life, but Jojo’s bereaved father has to learn how to be there for his son. The humanistic film tackles the topics of children and their needs in a touching and sensitive way.
“As an adult, you watch the film with psychological experience – you understand that something must be wrong with Jojo’s father, and you feel the depth of it. Therefore you find it moving. /…/ A child doesn't have those experiences, it feels much lighter to him. For a child, this is a film about a jackdaw, chewing gum, girlfriend and a dad who acts strange. This also connects with how I experienced the world when being ten. There was some issue between my parents, I would see them fighting, but I would only see the surface.” (Boudewijn Koole)