Up Heartbreak Hill premieres July 26, 2012 on POV. The film follows teenagers Thomas and Tamara, two Navajo track stars living on a New Mexico reservation. As graduation looms, they must navigate the lure of brighter futures elsewhere and the ties that bind them to home.
Read what critics are saying about Up Heartbreak Hill:
[A] rare journey inside Indian families… There are enough unguarded moments here with the teens that we are able to hear their voices loud and clear.
— David Crumm, Read the Spirit
The film is wrenching and clearly the “Heartbreak Hill” of the title is not only the name of a hill the runners must conquer in a race, but also the emotional hurdles they face growing up.
— Curt Schleier, The Jewish Daily Forward
It’s a fascinating and underdocumented subject, and the placing [of] native coming-of-age rituals alongside contemporary teen life makes it all the more compelling… a refreshing, original film about the challenges of indigenous youth.
— Ryan Little, Washington City Paper
Watch Up Heartbreak Hill now on the PBS mobile app, tune in to PBS starting Thursday night to watch on television (check local listings), or stream it online for a limited time starting Friday, July 27, 2012.
Then visit us on Twitter @povdocs, Facebook, or our companion site for Up Heartbreak Hill to tell us what you thought of the film.
Keep up with all of this season’s films and get alerts when videos are available for streaming at http://pbs.org/pov, on Twitter @povdocs or on Facebook.