Lola on the Pea

Lola lives on a house boat called “The Pea” together with her mother Loretta. Since her father vanished into thin air, she has become an outsider at her school. She wants nothing to change until he comes back. But suddenly two events tear Lola out of her lonely world. One: her mother has a new boyfriend, his name is Kurt, he’s a vet, and Lola does everything she can to get her mother and Kurt to split. And then there is Rebin, the mysterious new student in her class: he is a Kurd who has just moved to Lola’s small German village without legal papers. In the beginning, Rebin is suspicious, but by and by the two outsiders become friends. When Rebin’s mother suddenly falls ill and cannot visit a regular physician, Lola asks for help to her mom’s boyfriend Kurt, the only doctor Lola trusts. But the next day Rebin and his family are gone, and Lola is convinced she has done everything the wrong way.

In this gem of a film, Director Thomas Heinemann succeeds in making very serious issues such as immigration and family separation easily accessible to children while holding their attention and keeping everyone laughing.  He artfully captures the essence of what it means to be living undocumented in Germany from the perspective of a young boy and his family in a way that not only builds understanding, but also builds empathy. 

Part of the Portland Children’s Film Festival.