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20 Lies, 4 Parents and a Little Egg

Directed by Hanro Smitsman2013Netherlands81 mins

Old friends Emma and Sjors haven’t seen each other in twelve years. In that decade, they’ve shacked up with Ilse and Bert, respectively, and have made cozy lives for themselves: Emma and Ilse are raising Dylan, their cutie rocker teen son, and Bert and Sjors are enjoying a comfy and childless life, drinking espresso and collecting gay art. When Emma goes into the hospital, Sjors offers to take Dylan in for a few months—and the men’s tidy world is thrown into chaos. Dylan wails on his guitar, snoops through their books, and smokes weed in the living room, and promises to change their lives forever.

Adding to the uproar, Emma and Sjors have conveniently failed to let their partners in on the “tiny” secret between them: Sjors is not only a long-lost friend but also Dylan’s long-lost donor-dad. With Emma’s jaw wired shut, it’s up to shaggy, artsy Sjors to let the secrets leak, causing blowouts with Dylan and serious drama with Bert and Ilse. Meanwhile, Dylan struggles to find his own identity as the child of two queer couples—roaming the streets and pining after a redhead named Lotte. Amidst jealousy, confusion, and a clash of values, everyone loses control of their mouths, their hearts, and one another. Eventually they must put their differences aside and come together around the flailing, then blossoming, Dylan. Dutch filmmaker Hanro Smitsman crafts a delightfully fun film about adolescence and contemporary queer parenthood.

— Natalie Mulford

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Original Language Title
20 Leugens, 4 Ouders en een Scharrelei
Director
Hanro Smitsman
Year
2013
Country
Netherlands
Running Time
81 mins
Language
Dutch with English subtitles
Section
World Cinema
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