Sounds Like Teen Spirit

If you can imagine all the fuss around Susan Boyle  being transposed to a film about the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and the idea makes you sick, you should avoid this doc. If it doesn’t, there’s much to love in Jamie Jay Johnson’s film which follows a handful of teens as they prepare to travel to Rotterdam for the 2007 event. The film’s crescendo is the contest, but it’s the role of the kids’ backgrounds in shaping their image of themselves that proves most intriguing. The majority are well-off – but Georgia’s Mariam stands out: she comes from a home as modest as her personality and has half her nation rooting for her. Some annoying animations aside, Johnson serves the story well and strikes a welcome tone by taking his subjects just seriously enough. Very enjoyable – but no more than an extended ‘Pop Idol’ for cinema.