We end this year's QCinema competition coverage with what is probably one of its bravest and boldest films, Wena Sanchez's documentary All Grown Up. I say this because Sanchez bares her life story to all of us, with all of the baggage and naked, raw emotion that comes with it. It's such a bold thing for a filmmaker to show her vulnerability in such a profoundly frank way that I have to give Sanchez and her family props for doing so. It's deeply personal and also deeply affecting, because it draws on real hopes and fears.
And what are these hopes and fears? They are the kind that linger in many of us. The fear of a parent worried about the future of their child as they grow ever older. The fear of a child thrust into adulthood too fast, too soon. The fear of a daughter who feels she has disappointed her parents. The fear of a parent who thinks he or she hasn't done enough - or too much.
Sanchez tries to articulate these feelings, and you can hear the doubt and fear in her voice every time she makes an important decision for herself, her child or her family. There is the feeling of trying to save everyone, but failing, and there is the feeling of frustration that follows it.
Sanchez tries to articulate these feelings, and you can hear the doubt and fear in her voice every time she makes an important decision for herself, her child or her family. There is the feeling of trying to save everyone, but failing, and there is the feeling of frustration that follows it.
But there is also the decision to persevere despite these problems. "Pain is inevitable," said Haruki Murakami, "Suffering is optional." There is love here in this family, and life goes on. There are regrets, sure - there's one scene in particular near the end that articulates these regrets and fears so well that it left me in tears - but all we can do is keep on walking.
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