The Starr Sisters
2020 · 15m · USA
Directed by Bridey Elliott, Beth Einhorn
Genres: documentary
Documentary portrait of Patte and Randa Starr — two sisters who, having survived a traumatic past, choose to live out the childhood they never had.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Sisters who survived trauma now committed to 'living the childhood they never had' — refusing trauma-doc grammar is genuinely interesting, and Bridey Elliott is sharp. Cautiously into it.
Bridey Elliott (of Clara's Ghost) and Einhorn refusing the trauma-documentary grammar in favor of the Starr sisters' present-tense vitality is a meaningfully chosen formal stance, and The Eyeslicer's production fingerprint suggests aesthetic risk. A film I would program.
Mixed-media documentary at 15 minutes from Bridey Elliott (whose feature Clara's Ghost was a craft showcase) and Smudge Films/The Eyeslicer — that production lineage tells you the form will refuse trauma-doc conventions. SOTW pick at year-end.
Festivals
- Sundance 2020