Avery Klein-Cloud cannot convincingly say, "gangsta." Or at least that's what her Black friends think. Though she's African-American, Avery, the adopted daughter of a Jewish lesbian couple, has had an unconventional upbringing and the award-winning film "Off And Running" documents it all.



Avery is also the big sister of mixed-raced, Princeton-bound Rafi and Korean kid brother Zay –Zay. Scratchy childhood video footage shows her surrounded by pale skinned classmates, yarmulke resting on her mini 'fro.

Despite being raised in a happy Brooklyn household, as she enters adulthood Avery longs to connect with her biological mother in Texas. Thus begins a rather dark period of searching and self-discovery for the smart, charismatic teen. She learns that her birth name was "Mycole Antwonisha" and while she admits that she's not quite ready for such a -- how can I say this? -- colorful name, she spends most of the film trying to find herself somewhere between Avery and Mycole, between singing to Zay in Hebrew and finger snapping to "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It".

Thankfully the filmmaker, Nicole Opper, avoids dwelling on the sexuality of Avery's adoptive parents and instead focuses in on the true issues at hand, trans-racial adoption, Avery's desire to connect with her "African-American side" and the toll that it takes on her family and her promising track career. It's an emotional coming of age story that anyone who has ever questioned who they are can relate to.