The New York Times has already pegged “Step” as an audience-award frontrunner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Directed by Amanda Lipitz, the documentary follows a girls’ senior-year high school step team in the inner city of Baltimore, Maryland as they strive to become the first in their families to go to college.
The film follows the girls’ dancing success against the backdrop of social unrest in their troubled city and depicts moments of hope as they travel a tough road.
And tough it is, Lipitz told TheWrap in an interview from Park City, Utah. “Every single girl on the team has gone through not having food, not having electricity,” the filmmaker explained, describing the bleakness of poverty the entire team has experienced. “That is a reality of the United States of America,” added Lipitz.
The director described a misconception people have about the dance team “because they present themselves so well.” But make no mistake about the struggles they face behind the scenes, she said. “That is the reality of inner cities.”
Watch a portion of Lipitz’s interview with TheWrap above and see more on why the film is getting buzz at this year’s annual, wintry film festival.