On her tenth birthday, Olivia nervously waits for her father to arrive, fearing he will punch her in the nose - a ritual he's done to each of her older brothers when they turned ten. When her father arrives, he explains that he's not going to hit her; he only hits his sons so they can become men. Upon hearing the benefits of manhood, Olivia changes her mind and asks her father to punch her as well.

Director's Statement

When my son turned 13, I took him to a boxing gym where we were both given a short, exhausting lesson in how to throw a punch. Although I've never thrown a punch at another human being, years of watching television and reading Men's Health had ingrained in me the idea that taking and giving punches was a necessary part of becoming a man. Manhood is my mediation on the value of rites of passage; the absurdity of quantifying manhood, and how enshrining male power requires women to give up power of their own.

Category: Dramedy, Award Winner.
Themes: Family, Relationships, Youth.

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