FNC – Seagrass

National competition section

Judith is at a crossroads. Mourning the recent death of her mother, she defines herself through her family, living in denial of her Japanese roots. During a retreat with her emotionally stilted husband and two sensitive daughters on a remote island in British Columbia, her encounter with an ostensibly happy couple shatters the veneer of her carefully constructed life, triggering the need to face her own demons. Hama-Brown’s tense, superlatively restrained drama set in a perfectly rendered 90s charts the ups and downs of a marriage on the verge of collapse, with the children’s roles as nuanced as those of the parents. Delicate and masterful.

*Toronto International Film Festival 2023 – Discovery section