Cool Kids Don't Cry

Cool Kids Don't Cry (Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet, 2012) is a Dutch-Belgian family drama you can watch online on iFILM. Director Dennis Bots adapted Carry Slee's beloved novel about Akkie — sixth-grade bully, football obsessive, the last kid in class anyone would expect to need help.

Then comes the leukemia diagnosis. Akkie can handle the illness — she fights everything. What she can't handle is letting anyone in. Hanna Obbeek gives a performance that doesn't ask for your pity; it earns something harder. The film's real subject isn't dying — it's learning that accepting love isn't weakness. Quieter and more honest than most films in this space, and it doesn't talk down to younger viewers. Stream Cool Kids Don't Cry online on iFILM.