Taglines: Believe in the power to change your destiny.
Seven years after World War II, a 12-year-old boy named David (Ben Tibber) escapes a Stalinist labor camp in Bulgaria where he has spent his entire life. He sets out on a risky journey to Denmark, initially believing he is on an important mission to deliver a letter, but eventually discovering that the “mission” was to reunite him with his mother, of whom he has distinct memories. Along his journey, he faces danger, fear, loneliness, hunger, and encounters various people.
Johannes (Jim Caviezel), his friend and mentor in the camp, who prepares him for escape, is killed by a guard, leaving David to face escape on his own. David is helped by a guard to escape, who gives him a compass and tells him he must go southwest to Greece, take a boat to Italy and finally go north to Denmark, a peaceful and neutral country. Since David was locked in a camp all his life, he has repressed feelings and trusts no one, and so feels lost and disoriented in the world.
Along his journey, though he is mistreated by some people, he is well-treated by others. Gradually he learns that some people can be trusted, and to open up and experience his own feelings. Finally, with the help of decent people whom he has learned to trust, David is reunited with his mother in Denmark.
I Am David is a 2003 American drama film directed by Paul Feig in his directorial debut. It is based on the novel of the same name (originally published in the USA under the name North to Freedom) by Anne Holm. The film was produced by Walden Media and Lionsgate Films.
The film won several awards in 2003, including the Crystal Heart Award in the Heartland Film Festival, the Queens Festival’s Best Feature Film prize, and Best Film and Most Promising Actor for Ben Tibber. Ben Tibber never acted in a feature film again.
I Am David (2004)
Directed by: Paul Feig
Starring: Ben Tibber, Jim Caviezel, Joan Plowright, Hristo Shopov, Maria Bonnevie, Francesco De Vito, Marin Jivkov, Robert Syulev, Elisabetta Bartolomei, Krasimir Kutzoparov
Screenplay by: Paul Feig
Production Design by: Giovanni Natalucci
Cinematography by: Roman Osin
Film Editing by: Steven Weisberg
Costume Design by: Uliva Pizzetti
Set Decoration by: Antonello Rubino
Art Direction by: Nasko Ianakiev
Music by: Stewart Copeland
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements and violent content.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: December 3, 2004
Visits: 57
