Listen to This

The often delicate process of nurturing and managing children's nascent creativity is the subject of director Juan Baquero's Listen to This, which focuses an empathetic eye on a music program for 8- and 9-year-olds hailing from Toronto's rough Jane-Finch neighborhood, where kids grow up too fast walking the crime-ridden streets. Jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo and three other prominent local musicians serve as both music teachers and motivational speakers to their young charges; but the students' own personalities and talents quickly begin to steal the spotlight away from their well-meaning mentors. A particular stroke of brilliance is the use of “video diaries” created by the children, digital journals made away from the strictures of the classroom, where they can really open up and express themselves musically (and otherwise) in unexpectedly candid and often hilarious ways. As Thompson and his colleagues work to coax enough productivity out of these wary inner-city kids to actually guide them through the writing of full-length original songs, the process becomes just as much a learning experience for the adults as it is for the youngsters. DVD extras include a promo featurette and a music video. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Sandlin)