How do we define ourselves? Do we look at the fragmented bits and pieces of our identities, or do we look at the whole? Are we defined by our families, our names, our passions? Can we be defined at all?
This month’s VOD picks each explore an aspect of how many people would choose to define their sense of self. Tiffany Hsiung examines familial ties and how an unknown past can affect us in “Sing Me a Lullaby.” With “Vert,” writer-director Kate Cox looks at the way the world perceives us versus how we wish to be seen can impact our closest relationships. “Hiplet: Because We Can” explores how passions and the judgements others place upon us can transform how we interact with the world.
Here are Women and Hollywood’s VOD selections for February.
“Sing Me a Lullaby” (Documentary Short) – Written and Directed by Tiffany Hsiung
In this simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming documentary, writer-director Tiffany Hsiung searches for her mother’s birth parents, who mysteriously gave her away when she was five. With nothing but their names, Hsiung travels to Taiwan in hopes of unraveling her family’s secrets. Filmed over the course of 14 years, Hsiung tackles the very meaning of love and sacrifice with her search for the truth.
As Hsiung told Point of View Magazine, “People say the truth sets you free. I would say a very Western notion is that the truth will set you free. What if it brings you pain?”
Watch “Sing Me a Lullaby” on PBS.org.
“Vert” (Short) – Written and Directed by Kate Cox
If you could see your ideal body, and live in it momentarily in virtual reality, would you want to?
In this sci-fi short, Jeff and Emelia, a married couple of 20 years, are gifted a virtual reality set that shows their ideal selves. When the technology reveals a buried secret, the couple must examine their relationships with themselves and each other in a new light.
“I was thinking how identities can change over time and toying with the idea of a script around this,” writer-director Kate Cox has explained. “I was fascinated by what lies behind a very masculine exterior.”
Watch “Vert” on Vimeo.
“Hiplet: Because We Can” (Documentary Short) – Directed by Addison Wright
Part documentary, part music video, part short narrative, “Hiplet: Because We Can” combines genres just like the dancers at the heart of this film do.
Hiplet (pronounced “hip-lay”) is the dance style created by Homer Hans Bryant that combines classical ballet pointe techniques with hip-hop and other urban styles. In this short film, the dancers from the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center share their love of this unique artform and the struggles they face as Black ballet dancers. Director Addison Wright created this film “with the intention to inspire young Black women.”
Watch “Hiplet: Because We Can” on Vimeo.
