'Dear Frankie'
Shona Auerbach
Scotland | 2004 | 102mins | 35mm | Colour

On the surface, Dear Frankie is about a boy who communicates by letter with his long-lost father. But this sweet, charming film is really a love letter to the relationship between mothers and sons. Ten-year-old Frankie and his single mom Lizzie have been constantly on the move as long as he can remember. She took Frankie and ran away from his abusive father when he was very young. Every few weeks, he receives a letter from his father from a different exotic port of call. Unbeknownst to Frankie, his mother Lizzie is really writing the letters, in an effort to give the boy a father figure in his life. When Frankie learns that the ship on which he believes his father is stationed is coming to town, Lizzie must make a desperate choice: tell Frankie the truth or the safer alternative of finding someone to pose as his sailor father?