Produced and directed by Joanna Lipper
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The children in this intimate documentary tell their own life stories with humor, sadness and honesty. The world is portrayed as experienced by each child narrator, including elements of fantasy. Factors including divorce, adoption, religion, immigration, cultural legacy and death in the family are addressed as these children from diverse backgrounds internalize the world around them with unnerving precocity. The relationship between knowledge and loss of innocence is a central theme. Funny, sad, playful and riveting, these portraits reveal identities in the process of development.

Inside Out: Portraits of Children had its World Premiere in International Competition in 1996 at the Marseilles International Festival of Documentary Films, where it won the PRIX JEUNE PUBLIC. The film was named winner of the HOLLYWOOD DISCOVERY AWARD for Best Original Documentary and was awarded a Certificate of Merit at The San Francisco International Film Festival. Other festivals where the film has screened include The Jerusalem Film Festival, The Chicago Childrens' Film Festival, The Hot Springs Film Festival, The Independent Features Project and The DOCtober Festival sponsored by the IDA.

The film was selected for the MoMa New Documentary Series at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Additionally, it screened at The Museum of Tolerance and at The Seattle International Film Festival, as part of a Special Event Series described in the program as "Films for Families: Screenings that give families and young people of all ages the chance to view the best movies by young-at-heart filmmakers from around the world."

Inside Out: Portraits of Children was purchased by Showtime and had its television premiere on the Sundance Channel.

To view Joanna Lipper's photographs of the children in this film, visit the Inside Out Photo Gallery.