GENRE: DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE), DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: NEURODIVERGENCY | SIGN LANGUAGE | FAMILY
Janet Sharrock and Buddha Barnes are in dire need of a holiday, but the universe has other plans. Together, along with the couple’s five adult children, they form a blended, neurodiverse family. Their exhausted and cash-strapped family must routinely navigate financial hardships in addition to the challenges that neurodivergent individuals face day-to-day. Their modest lives aren’t society’s ideal, but they never stop fighting to make it work.
Because We Have Each Other tells a tender tale about seven people overcoming adversity by putting their unwavering love and support for one another above all else. Australian filmmaker Sari Braithwaite’s documentary paints an intimate portrait of working-class struggle. Braithwaite places an achingly revealing spotlight on the forces that strengthen and weaken family bonds. Because We Have Each Other delivers a heartfelt and inspiring tale about how unconditional love and acceptance help people find resilience in the face of life’s greatest challenges.
Screening with Short Film
Regard Silence | Santiago Zermeño | Mexico | Doc | 2022 | 29 minutes | Spanish with English subtitles with open captions
Regard Silence shows several deaf people participating in a poetry workshop. Their attempts to express themselves are alternated in the film with individual interviews about being a deaf person communicating in a hearing world. How does it affect one’s sense of self-worth to learn sign language after years of lip reading? – IDFA
