Sink or Swim

USA, 1990, 48' 

The film describes childhood events that shaped the ideas of a girl on fatherhood, family relationships, and work along a series of twenty-six very short episodes. As the stories gradually unravel, a twofold portrait emerges, that of a father who is more concerned with career than family, and that of a daughter who is deeply affected by his behaviour. As a counterpoint to the power of the commentary there are sensuous black & white pictures portraying everyday life events, from trivial school trips to the celebration of rites of passage. Almost a film-essay on the irreversible nature of certain choices and the distance between those who make them and those who remain unknowingly trapped in them: a liberation from the daughter role for a film director, Su Friedrich, who has conducted a constant reflection on social stereotypes and their origin, the family. An unforgettable work for its ability to dilute formal complexity in a strong emotional tension.