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Teen spirit

The young cast of sci-fi thriller ‘The Darkest Minds’, out on Thursday, talk about using their voices for change

- By Tre’Vell Anderson

When Whitney Houston sang “I believe the children are our future / Teach them well and let them lead the way ...” in her 1985 cover of George Benson’s The Greatest Love of All, perhaps she knew there’d come a time when youth would truly chart a path forward. Much like the school-aged children and college students who helped undergird efforts of the civil rights movement, this generation’s millennial­s have assumed the major responsibi­lity of speaking truth to power — cast in point is the Black Lives Matter movement to Parkland students marching for gun reform.

It’s a sentiment shared by the latest dystopian sci-fi YA adaptation,

The Darkest Minds, in UAE cinemas on Thursday, according to star Amandla Stenberg.

“This is a story about young people speaking up, finding their voices, standing in their power and truth and utilising their powers, literally,” she said. “It couldn’t be more relevant right now.”

Power to the people and power to the kids because the kids will change the world.

Adapted from Alexandra Bracken’s young adult novel series of the same name, the film follows a group of teens who, imprisoned by an adult world that fears the secret powers of anyone under 18, develop a resistance group to fight back. Stenberg, who had a breakout role in the genre as the tragic Rue in

The Hunger Games, plays Ruby, whose powers are the most rare and powerful of the kids.

After she escapes, she meets others on the run from the government, played by Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats), Skylan Brooks (The Get Down) and Miya Cech (American Horror Story), as they avoid a bounty hunter in search of a rumoured secret society of kids like them.

Early one spring morning last year, massive winds whipped through the

Darkest Minds set in the outskirts of Atlanta, where there are more cows than houses. Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson and team set up cameras in a rolling, grassy field about half a mile from the base camp. While in transit, she mentioned she was attracted to the film because of Chad Hodge’s script and Bracken’s characters.

“I always look at the quality of characters and whether I bond with them and care about what happens,” the director of the Kung Fu Panda sequels said. “If you don’t care, no plot is going to save you.”

While it’s ultimately “a great road trip action movie,” it has an “interestin­g emotional base,” she said, likening it to

Stranger Things in that although it stars teens, it is not just for young adults.

Back at base camp, Stenberg, wrapped in a blanket in her trailer, reflected on her “really strong female character,” an aspect that made her want to take on the role.

“She is independen­t and really focused on her dedication to family,” she said. “She is so powerful and doesn’t quite know her power yet. I think that’s a quality that’s really interestin­g in a character, and it becomes more admirable as she steps into the shoes she has to fill.”

Having the book as source material was “a huge blessing” that helped her access parts of Ruby that couldn’t be incorporat­ed into the adaptation, Stenberg said.

“There are tonnes of things actors workshop going into a scene, the character’s mind-set, feelings they might be having. Having the book, a lot of that [foundation] is already there. In reading it, I’m able to see things about and details from Ruby’s life that may inform the person she is that you might not get from the script.”

But the bestseller also brings a rabid fan base that is both a blessing and a curse. Brooks called it “almost overwhelmi­ng.”

There’s a fine line between disrespect­ing the book and its fans and taking some elements and incorporat­ing them into something new...

“Usually things are done and you create the fan base and grow with them,”

he said, “but now it’s like living up to something.”

Dickinson agreed.

“There’s a fine line between disrespect­ing the book and its fans and taking some elements and incorporat­ing them into something new,” he said. “We respect the book and author, but this is, in a way, a fresh take on it.”

As filming was set to begin, pre-teen Cech, the youngest member of the core ensemble, had just finished the book. She said that the night before she could barely sleep, excited about her first film role. But like the rest of her ensemble, she was ready for the high jinks that’d arise over the course of filming.

Over a year later, Cech said she “didn’t know what to expect.”

“But we got along immediatel­y and had great chemistry,” the 11-year-old said. “We had a lot of fun on and off the set and our director was so great to work with. She has a very calming personalit­y and is super patient. I learned so much from everyone.”

For Stenberg, in hindsight, she would’ve never predicted that The Darkest Minds could be not only an enticing sci-fi thriller but a super poignant and timely picture. But at 19 years old, she knows the responsibi­lity on the shoulders and power of her generation.

“We have so many societal conditions that have shaped our perception­s of ourselves and make us scared to walk in our truths,” she said. “We’ve got to go through the process of unlearning that internalis­ed self-hatred or fear or internalis­ed racism and phobias, whatever it may be. That’s the most powerful thing audiences can take away from this.”

Brooks agreed, noting the similariti­es between the film and recent headlines, both of which involve kids being stripped from their parents by government­al forces.

“This should be a reality check to the state of being which we all find ourselves in,” he said. “Everybody has a power and some believe their different power divides them. But no matter what colour, no matter what race, diversity doesn’t make us different. It should bring us together to learn about everyone.

“Power to the people and power to the kids, because the kids will change the world.”

“[My character] is independen­t and really focused on her dedication to family... She is so powerful and doesn’t quite know her power yet.” AMANDLA STENBERG | Actress

 ?? Rex Features ?? The stars of ‘The Darkest Minds’ — Harris Dickinson, Amandla Stenberg, Skylan Brooks and Miya Cech.
Rex Features The stars of ‘The Darkest Minds’ — Harris Dickinson, Amandla Stenberg, Skylan Brooks and Miya Cech.
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 ??  ?? Mandy Moore, producer Dan Cohen, Amandla Stenberg, Skylan Brooks, Miya Cech, director Jennifer Yuh, producers Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Alexandra Bracken and author Chad Hodge at a screening of ‘The Darkest Minds’ in Los Angeles on July 26. Stenberg and Dickinson. Harris Dickinson in the film. Mandy Moore and Amandla Stenberg. Dickinson, Skylan Brooks and Miya Cech.
Mandy Moore, producer Dan Cohen, Amandla Stenberg, Skylan Brooks, Miya Cech, director Jennifer Yuh, producers Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Alexandra Bracken and author Chad Hodge at a screening of ‘The Darkest Minds’ in Los Angeles on July 26. Stenberg and Dickinson. Harris Dickinson in the film. Mandy Moore and Amandla Stenberg. Dickinson, Skylan Brooks and Miya Cech.

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