A Chance in the World

A Chance in the World tells the true story of Steve Pemberton, a wounded and broken boy destined to become a man of resilience and vision. From the day 5-year-old Steve is dropped off at his foster home, he suffers mental and physical abuse at the hands of foster parents Betty and Willie and their children. Desperate for a sense of family and belonging, Steve searches for his biological parents, but no one in the system can provide help or solve the mystery of why he has the last name of Klakowicz despite his obvious African-American features. Gloomy as his life appears, a faint light emanates from a neighbor’s small acts of kindness and from a box of books. Steve learns from those books - and from his high-school teacher - that he has to fight in any way he can to succeed in life, and he eventually discovers that family is not only determined by blood. (St. Louis International Film Festival)