Kistarter promo for the Maidentrip Kickstarter campaign.
At just 14 years old, Laura Dekker sets out on a two-year voyage to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. While the Dutch teen’s announcement spurs a highly publicized custody battle with the Child Welfare Office, filmmaker Jillian Schlesinger focuses on the real heart of the story, a fiercely independent girl and her audacious dream. Schlesinger films Laura at her many exotic ports of call, but it’s the young captain herself who shoots all the footage at sea in journal-like conversations with the camera. Far from scrutiny and land, she’s visibly free and speaks so confidently and honestly about her desires, fears and vulnerability, you forget you’re watching a teenager. It’s clear this old soul is captaining not only her beloved boat Guppy, but also her future, of which she’s already in full command. Thoroughly unique, Maidentrip breathes new life into the coming-of-age story.