The Learning Tree

The first Hollywood studio film directed by an African American, The Learning Tree is multitalented Gordon Parks’s adaptation of his own semiautobiographical novel for the screen. Set in 1920s segregation-era Kansas, this poignant coming-of-age story features all the hallmarks of the genre—from neighborhood crushes and the discovery of sex to moral crisis. But tensions are heightened throughout as its young main character tries to navigate a community where the white residents make the rules. Recommended for ages 13 and over. (107 mins., 35mm)