MIMA

Documentary Short || Director & Editor || Currently in Post-Production || ~25mins || 2020

Through the intimate perspective of the director, Melanie Rosete explores the effects of intergenerational trauma between a grandmother, a mother, and her daughter. Using verité shooting, archival footage, and interviews conducted by Melanie herself, "Mima" challenges each subject to reflect on their difficult upbringing, in an attempt to determine whether or not their pasts dictate who they are and who they will be.

“Mima” takes place seven years after Melanie, her brother Christian, and their parents were evicted from their home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn by their maternal grandmother Josie. After not speaking to Josie for those seven years, Melanie, now 21, finally decides to reach out to Josie in hopes of rekindling their relationship. The film follows the three women, Melanie, her mother Wendy, and her grandmother Josie, as they each dive into their childhoods to uncover how things got to where they are today. Josie reflects on her upbringing in northern Italy under strict and abusive parents. Wendy recounts her tumultuous and toxic relationship with Josie and the ways it affected her parenting style with her own children. Melanie considers the impact the eviction and her relationships with the maternal figures in her family had on her mental health.

Themes: Growing up | Trauma | Vanity | Motherhood | Resilience | Forgiveness

Stage: Currently in Post-Production. Aimed to be completed September 2020.