Love & Stuff
Courtesy of production.
Judith Helfand | US, 2020 | English | Documentary | 80m | IMDB | Jewish film festival sales: Go2Films | Festival marketing sample: HotDocs 2020
Description: Using troves of footage she shot over the years, family home movies and the inherited possessions that she has had to sort through, filmmaker Judith Helfand reflects on the key relationships in her life. She examines her mother’s influence and grieves her loss to cancer. Helfand’s own diagnosis years earlier led to an emergency hysterectomy and the eventual decision to adopt a girl at the age of 50. Her desire to survive to see her own daughter reach adulthood leads to the decision to undergo a gastric sleeve surgery in order to attain a critical weight loss.
Merits: Are we missing a diagnosis of a borderline hoarding disorder in addition to everything else? Lest all the talk of morbidity sound depressing, this film is not. Helfand’s gentle, self deprecating humour often shines through. Love & Stuff is deeply personal, emotionally generous and moving.
Rating: Suitable for all audiences.