Home is the place you’re meant to feel most comfortable. For many people, it’s with their families, their belongings, and their own space. But that isn’t always possible, particularly for those who have troubled relationships with their relatives or those in the midst of conflict. Finding a sense of belonging in new circumstances isn’t easy, which is why it’s an experience rife for dissection by filmmakers.
This round of VOD and web series picks features projects that see people seeking a home away from home. “Import” follows a refugee family as they adapt to their new life. In “Mothering,” a young girl in a new foster home faces a major milestone with an unexpected companion. Finally, a newbie drug counselor and her teenage patients work through their problems together in a rehab center in “Cleaner Daze.”
Here are Women and Hollywood’s latest VOD and web series selections.
VOD
“Import” (Short) – Written and Directed by Ena Sendijarević
Children drum their hands on school desks, and a man smokes a cigarette with his cheek settled against tile floors. Ena Sendijarević packs her short “Import” full of beautifully shot moments like these, elegantly woven together as she gives viewers a brief look into the life of a family forced to relocate to a different country. Clocking in at just over 15 minutes, the short follows a mother, father, and their two young girls throughout one day, as they settle into their new life.
“Import” moves between the family members’ perspectives fluidly, showcasing the day-to-day struggles (and small triumphs) they face in acclimating to their new environment. The girls find short-lived popularity after making off with their caretaker’s cookie tin, while their mother (Alena Dzebo) adjusts to working as a cleaner in a hospice in what appears to be a step down from her former career. The father (Mario Knezovic), meanwhile, takes on the mission of setting up the family’s new satellite television. While this action might seem underwhelming, Sendijarević delicately underscores its importance in several moving scenes that make the film more than worth the watch.
The short was inspired by the writer-director’s experience relocating to the Netherlands with her family in the midst of the Bosnian war. As asylum seekers continue to face heart-wrenching attacks on their rights around the world, Sendijarević’s short intends to humanize their struggles with both touches of humor and seriousness. “I felt that the reality of the refugee experience was misrepresented,” she said in an interview with Short of the Week, “and wanted to show the absurdity of it.”
When it premiered in 2016, “Import” was nominated for a bevy of international awards, including Best International Short at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Illy Prize at Cannes. It won awards for best short at the Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival and Go Short International Short Film Festival. In the three years since its premiere, the themes and perspectives explored by “Import” remain relevant, timely, and moving.
“Mothering” (Short) – Written and Directed by Lucy Bridger
Most people who menstruate remember the first time they had their period. It can be shocking, exciting, intimidating, and sometimes even scary. In “Mothering,” a young girl named Mia (Sapphire Paine) has her first period on the first night in her new foster home. Her new and not-yet-comfortable surroundings have all the potential to make it a scarring event, but instead it sets the stage for a new relationship to bloom.
The first few moments of the short see Mia timidly navigating her new home. During dinner she struggles to cut a green bean using her fork and knife and shyly answers a question from her foster mother Helen’s (Angela McHale) mother, Pauline (Ursula Jones). Pauline is the one to find Mia after she discovers blood in her underwear in the early hours of the morning, and the moments that ensue are full of all of the warmth and tenderness you could hope for.
Writer-director Lucy Bridger’s approach is an expert study in subtle exposition, where gentle touches say more than words ever could. Bridger’s experience getting a painful period at her grandmother’s house inspired the heart of her short, she explained in an interview with Vimeo, and she wanted to translate her grandmother’s “sixth sense” that provided her comfort into “Mothering.” “When you enter a new phase of your life, as Mia was doing, you grieve,” Bridger explained, “I personally believe there are no words that can take away that pain.” Rather than attempting to resolve all of Mia’s problems in the span of 15 minutes, Bridger leaves viewers with a handful of poignant shots that signal happier days ahead.
Web Series
“Cleaner Daze” – Created and Directed by Tess Sweet
“Cleaner Daze” opens with bursts of noise and chaos, as protagonist Jasmine (Abigail Reno) arrives at a rehab center for teenage addicts to interview for a job as a counselor. Her predecessor is in the midst of being fired, the receptionist regales her with information about his previous drug use and incarceration, and the teens she’s supposed to be counseling are playing rowdy tricks on one another. It’s an intimidating first day, to say the least.
As the series progresses, we see Jasmine connect with teenagers as they open up about what their drug use has taken from them. Some have lost friends, others their sweethearts, and it becomes clear that Jasmine’s own struggles with addiction aren’t totally over either. “Cleaner Daze” is not a rose-colored portrait of recovery by any means, showcasing both the lows and highs of the process in a gritty, personal manner.
The series is created, directed, and co-written by Tess Sweet, a recovering addict who has been vocal about the challenges of getting sober. “’Cleaner Daze’ is a world I know,” she said in an interview, “I work ongoing with at-risk youth and volunteer with both adults and teens in treatment [and] authenticity means everything to me.” Sweet cast actual teens in recovery for many of the series’ roles, giving the experiences portrayed throughout the series a sense of reality and depth.
Sweet sees her series as a way to reach out to those who struggle with addiction, particularly in the wake of the opioid crisis. “I believe people in recovery have a responsibility to help others,” Sweet explained, “and for me, that means vocalizing my life choice to be clean and being open to conversation around addiction.” Through “Cleaner Daze,” she hopes to encourage more people to speak up about their experiences with addiction and emphasize that recovery is possible.
