'Maidentrip'
A resourceful and insightful young woman breaks the record for the world's youngest solo circumnavigation
Reviewed by Jordan Smith, Fri., March 15, 2013
SXSW Film Reviews
Maidentrip
Visions, World PremiereD: Jillian Schlesinger; with Laura Dekker
If you want to do something, you "don't have to know that you can do it, you just have to try." That's the advice that now-17-year-old Laura Dekker gave to director Jillian Schlesinger as she began work with the teen on her directorial debut documentary feature Maidentrip, about Dekker's circumnavigation of the globe. Indeed, Dekker embodies that principle: After battling at 14 with Dutch officials for her right to do so, last year, at 16, Dekker became the youngest person ever to have sailed solo around the world. Dekker's story is one of inspiration and freedom, of the mysteries and wonder of life – both internal and external. It is about a private, resourceful, and insightful young woman determined to accomplish a dream. The plotting, weaving Dekker's backstory with her life at sea, is deft, and the superb editing – with at-sea footage shot entirely by Dekker – expands the narrative beyond the horizon. If you're looking for inspiration, look no further than Schlesinger's vision of Dekker's liberated spirit.
Wednesday, March 13, 2pm, Alamo Village
