Céline Roustan
For most of us, our first encounter with illness and death comes from witnessing our grandparents bedridden and fully dependent. This is what 9 year-old cousins Trang and Mai are trying to process, as they spend yet another afternoon at their grandma’s, where their aunt cares for them after school. Shifting to fiction while still exploring family dynamics, writer/director Carol Nguyen (No Crying at the Dinner Table) returns to S/W with new short film Nanitic – a coming-of-age story that presents a universal experience with multiple emotional layers.
A short inspired by personal experience, Nguyen shared with us that one of her greatest regrets is not saying goodbye to her grandma on her deathbed. Between childhood innocence, fear and the lack of discussion on the topic of death, she was unable to bring herself to see this woman she no longer recognized – an experience many, myself included, can relate to. The authenticity of this situation is palpable throughout the film, adding to its emotionally compelling nature. Nguyen added that the death of grandparents can often mark a turning point in families, even more so in immigrant families, as when they leave they take a part of their cultural heritage with them.
“The word ‘nanitic’ is coined for first-generation worker ants, who sacrifice their life for the survival of the colony”
The metaphor of ants runs through the film, from the title to the dynamics between the characters. The grandmother is the queen ant, while the mothers and aunts are the nanitics – the first generation of immigrants caught between having to raise their kids and taking care of their parents. “Grandparents hold the culture and family together (the Queen ants)”, Nguyen explains. Before adding that the “parents sacrifice themselves for their children’s futures (the Nanitics)”, while the children “reap all the benefits of their hard work as the colony grows, but only to assimilate away from our cultures once our elders are gone”. This structure enables us to understand all the characters, even those not seen on screen, offering a greater understanding of the family as a whole and the significance of the grandmother.
“When a Queen Ant dies, it is stated that the colony slowly dies thereafter.” – Nguyen discussing the symbolism of ants in her film
As previously mentioned, there’s a real youthful innocence present in the screenplay, with the way the girls climb the stairs a particular element that truly took me back to my own childhood. Working with her DP Alexandre Nour-Desjardins (Simo), they crafted a visual aesthetic that evokes a warm darkness, capturing the familiar and comforting atmosphere of a grandmother’s house, while also creating a certain confusion and fear around the bedridden grandmother. The perspective of the children feels incredibly authentic, managing to avoid seeming naive even from an adult’s point of view. Kylie Le and Van Pham, who portray Trang and Mai, are incredible in conveying that mix of feelings so remarkably, embodying the emotional weight and layers of Nguyen’s screenplay so genuinely.
Nanitic had its World Premiere at the 2022 edition of TIFF, where it won the IMDbPro Share Her Journey Short Cuts Award. The short then went on to be selected at multiple festivals including FNC in Montreal, the Berlinale (in the Generation section) and the Palm Springs ShortFest, ahead of its online debut at a Vimeo Staff Pick. Nguyen is currently developing a feature documentary and an animated short.