ALTERATIONS

J’s manic depressive mother, Mary Jane, had a heart attack when J told her that she wanted to live as a woman. Now J is making a movie to sort things out. When Mary Jane awoke from her coma, she woke up believing that she is someone else. J’s brother insists that J patches things up with their amnesiac mother and when the two meet again for the first time as women, an innocent, weekend adventure to face each other’s fears manages to keep their monsters at bay. Protected by their new identities, the two women find a best friend in each other. They also find an opportunity to step outside their prescribed roles of mother and offspring and to evolve into personalities that are closer to their core. In a tone similar to Chagall’s paintings, the film mixes a colorful and seemingly innocent style with a dark, rich palette of emotional character undertones by using non-actors in surreal, little known, Miami settings.

Film Maker
Zaldivar, Juan Carlos
Year
2015
Country
U.S.A.
Length
18
Language
English (spanish subtitles available upon request)
Category
Absurdity, Aging, body, Childhood, comedy, Disability, Families, Feminism, found footage, Gender, Identity, LGBTQ, Memory, Mental Health, Poetry, sexuality, Trans*, Violence, Work about Women, Youth
Genre
docufiction, narrative, queer, short

Stills From Video

  • Still 1