AFI FEST Los Angeles International Film Festival 2009

Set in Harlem, this vibrant, honest and resoundingly hopeful film follows the story of Clareece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a 16-year-old African-American girl born into a life no one would want. Pregnant for the second time by her absent father, she waits hand and foot on her poisonously angry, abusive mother (Mo’Nique). School is cruel and chaotic, and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and an awful secret: she can neither read nor write. Though sometimes down, Precious is never out. Beneath her impassive expression is a watchful, curious young woman with an inchoate but unshakable sense that other possibilities exist for her. Could a transfer to an alternative school be the chance she has been waiting for? Winner of three awards at Sundance, the audience award at Toronto and an official selection at Cannes, director Lee Daniels takes us on a journey from darkness, pain and powerlessness to light, love and self-determination.