Page 10 - 01oct_YOGINI_Neat

Theme

The themes of spiritual growth and exploration, grief, the death
of a parent, and breaking from tradition, are all pretty universal.

The thing that makes this concept interesting is the fact that these
themes are being touched on by way of a young person exploring
spiritual practices considered nontraditional in western society
and specifically within her Catholic family. It takes a lot of courage
to really examine one’s beliefs and challenge them, especially

when it is not supported by the family that raised you. This is an
increasingly common experience in western society and one that is
actually relatable to many young people, even though we rarely see

such things represented in media.

Tone

Finding comparable films is a challenge because audiences have
seen nothing like Yogini. What makes this script unique is it is a

very grounded, organic story based on actual events. It deals with
a reality that many young people deal with, but which is seldom
depicted in films. Yogini is about a grieving teenager finding coping
mechanisms as she tries to find her footing at a time when her

support structure crumbles. Yogini is a drama; however, it echoes
the complex undertones of great comedic films such as Juno and
Little Miss Sunshine. Like Juno, Yogini is concerned with some of
the psychological themes, disagreements, and constraints one

faces during their emergence into adulthood. Yogini begins with
these psychological development themes, then moves on to the
comeback story through the mentoring of the Karate Kid, while
experiencing the coming-of-age journey of Little Miss Sunshine.
10 11