Stream It Or Skip It? [Video]

When Viola Davis shared a clip of a boy dancing in the rain, the viral moment sparked Anthony Madu’s journey from Lagos, Nigeria to Birmingham, England and the elite dance studios at Elmhurst Ballet School. In Madu, directed with care and sensitivity by Matt Ogens and Joel Kachi Benson, we follow that journey. Just 12 when he leaves his mother, father, and siblings to join the exclusive seven-year program at Elmhurst, Anthony must acclimate himself to a new country, a new climate, and a new social environment while striving to fulfill his ballet dreams and make his family proud.    

The Gist: At night in Lagos, beside a roaring fire, Anthony Madu dances ballet solo for a small audience of family and friends, his performance lit not by theater spotlights but the flames and headlight beams of gathered motorbikes. It’s a beautifully shot sequence that opens Madu, and one carefully aligned with footage of Anthony dancing …