"I Got Through"

24 November 2020

2 mins 15s

Keep on keeping on.

The raw emotional heart of this film for Grief Encounter comes from a collaboration between director Luke Brookner and spoken word artist Hussain Manawer - both of whom channelled their own experiences with loss. The result speaks directly to an audience familiar with the unique sting of such grief: a sense that 'if you know, you know'.

While losing a parent is no respecter of age, juvenile grieving is a distinct experience that's rarely addressed in such a detailed way. Instructions from teachers, lighthearted jokes, innocent questions from others - the film allows these small moments to stack up until the viewer really feels their weight pressing on young shoulders.

The combination of rhythmic narration and visual vignettes works beautifully here, offering moments of insight into how kids are forced to adapt to a world with a parent-shaped hole in it. Grief Encounter can't fix the emotional wound of bereavement, but this film makes it clear just how valuable their support is to young people in need of a light in the darkness.

UK

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