This Is Where I Sleep - Abby
2013 · 5m · Canada
Directed by Annick De Vries, Ernest Godin, Eza Paventi
Genres: coming-of-age, documentary
Tones: contemplative, tender
In Burundi, schoolgirl Abby attends class each day and studies hard in hopes of becoming a doctor who can help others, in a place where many poor children must work instead.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A sincere portrait of a girl studying hard to become a doctor—basically the anti-premise. The subversion would've been if Abby rejected the whole system, but instead we get the documentary validating exactly what we expect to feel.
Formally modest but disciplined; the film sits comfortably in the observational documentary lineage, letting daily ritual and intention accumulate without rhetorical flourish—a measured approach to portraiture that respects both subject and viewer.
The decision to stay *with* Abby's hands—studying, writing, reaching—rather than cutting to her face or the broader village creates an intimacy that transforms a simple premise into something tactile and lived, making five minutes feel earned.