This Is Where I Sleep - Shana
2013 · 5m · Canada
Directed by Annick De Vries, Ernest Godin, Eza Paventi
Genres: coming-of-age, documentary, family
Tones: contemplative, tender, whimsical
On a ranch in New Caledonia, Shana spends most of her time outdoors among the animals she loves, certain she will become a veterinarian.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A five-minute ranch documentary about a kid who wants to be a vet—sounds like the most Netflix-friendly thing ever, and it almost certainly is. But I'll admit the three-director approach hints at something less predictable than the premise lets on, even if I'm skeptical it actually lands.
The triptych directorial voice recalls a certain essayistic documentary tradition, and the formal restraint in depicting rural childhood—tender without sentimentality—positions this thoughtfully within coming-of-age cinema's quieter lineage.
What makes this work isn't the premise but the decision to let Shana's relationship with the animals breathe in real time—no manipulative cuts, no score cues telling you when to feel; the filmmakers trust that her certainty, filmed outdoors in New Caledonia's light, speaks for itself.