My Parent, Neal
2021 · 8m · United States
Directed by Hannah Saidiner
Genres: animation, documentary, experimental
Tones: contemplative, tender
Filmmaker Hannah Saidiner and her father Neal talk through his gender transition, which began at age 62, in a hand-painted rotoscope documentary built largely from pandemic-era home footage.
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The scouts
Hand-painted rotoscope sounds like a gimmick until you realize it's the only honest way to animate intimacy—the labor of the brush becomes the labor of love, and suddenly the experimental wrapper isn't subversive, it's necessary.
Saidiner positions herself within a lineage of essay films and animated documentaries while maintaining formal restraint; the rotoscope technique echoes both structural autobiography and the painterly traditions of animation, refusing easy sentiment through deliberate formal choice.
The decision to rotoscope home footage rather than animate fresh—keeping the imperfect frames, the lighting, the specific awkwardness of pandemic video calls—transforms what could be a polished family story into something that feels archaeologically true.
Reviews
Part interview, part confessional, My Parent, Neal demonstrates the power of honesty within the complexities of family and identity. The film delivers a cathartic experience as the weight of unspoken truths is lifted.