San Francisco Documentary Festival 2011

“Signe Taylor’s Circus Dreams brings us to a world we’ve never seen, charms us with young people dedicated to living their dreams and enthralls us with their performances.” Don Schwartz, CineSourceMagazine.com

Circus Dreams, a heartwarming feature documentary, opens with a group of sweet, funny and extremely bendy 12 to 18-year-olds auditioning for Circus Smirkus, the only traveling youth circus in the United States. The film captures the lucky chosen ones moving onto a 3-week rehearsal period in Vermont, where they are coached by performers from Ringling, Big Apple and Cirque Du Soleil. It then follows them all the way through their exhilarating and exhausting 70-performance tour through 14 towns in five states. Circus Dreams immerses viewers into the lives of these talented kids, capturing their intense work ethic, passion for performance, deep friendships and budding loves.

Circus Dreams focuses on four compelling characters. These include Joy Powers and Maddy Hall, best friends and clown partners, who are on a mission to prove that “girls can be funny too, not just the guys.” Facing rejection, cuts and self-doubt, the pair undergoes a transformational voyage that ultimately sends one to the pinnacle of circus success. Circus Dreams also features Jacob Tischler, a striking and achingly honest teenager from Vermont who overcomes his isolation through finding joy in the circus ring. And it focuses on Thula Martin, a captivating 12-year-old hula dancer from Hawaii, who grows from an injured child into a capable young woman over the course of the film. The charismatic supporting cast includes death-defying aerialists and two brothers on a quest to become the best diabolo jugglers in the world.

The coming-of-age stories are told against the backdrop of the make-it or break-it Circus Smirkus summer tour. Circus Smirkus, an award-winning, twenty-year old arts organization, is steps away from financial ruin. The kids know that the future of the organization rests on their shoulders. They push to perform at their utmost since Smirkus is one of the few places where they feel at home. A beautifully- shot and deftly-edited documentary, the film celebrates the sweat, and the pain and the glory of kids pursuing something they love to do.

Circus Dreams premiered at SPROCKETS Toronto International Film Festival for Children and Youth in April 2011 as the Festival’s closing night film, where it was honored with a Youth Jury award. Circus Dreams also received the Best Films4Families Feature Award at the Seattle International Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Documentary at Woods Hole Film Festival and the Indie Spec Special Recognition Award at the Boston International Film Festival.