Valentina Hueck is a Venezuelan American filmmaker. pulsing orange, skinny youth became in part the filmmaker's outlet for childhood memories of being a child Venezuelan immigrant in the American South. Over the film two characters - Elijah, a stoic redneck without an apparent stable future and Danny, an adopted son who deals with normalized racism - face a literal hurricane together, which lays bear their devotion to each other as young human beings with mutual care and respect for each other, in what is otherwise an unforgiving world for the both of them.

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Set in a desolate island in the Southern part of the United States the boys try to escape hardships via the magic of childhood play, but instead are forced to confront hidden truths. Although both are envious of the other, the hurricane's encapsulation of the two in one storm becomes an intimate experience where they learn of each other's hardships.

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Valentina Hueck 'I began this film by asking myself, what are the most important elements in my filmmaking practice? Through developing pulsing orange, skinny youth I discovered that introspection, subjectivity and healing are key aspects of my work.

Therefore, I decided to make a memory-oriented short film of my childhood as a Venezuelan immigrant in the American South. My introspection led me to recognize a recurring theme of children navigating "adult" problems, (eg: homelessness and racism) in small towns.

pulsing orange, skinny youth centers on this perspective of two archetypal American characters personified by Elijah and Danny. During a time of great divide in this country, I wanted to have these American characters reconcile. The end product is a mixture of my intimate memories of childhood and an objective understanding of the American South.

Overall, I wanted to highlight the element of healing these children must go through. Through six months of writing the script, the end scene never changed. This is because the concluding scene emphasizes the element of healing. After confronting previously unspoken feelings, they are capable of learning empathy.'

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