SOFTENING

2013 SHORT DOCUMENTARY WINNER

In 2007 I gave birth to my second child, Teddy. The pregnancy was easier than the first and the birth went relatively smoothly. A few hours after he was born he showed signs of infection and we soon found out that he had contracted a virus in utero – one that seriously affected his central nervous system causing “extensive brain damage.” In the worst case, he would end up in a wheelchair, deaf, blind, and severely cognitively impaired. Best case: he’d have fine motor problems and less dramatic “global delays.” But the doctors said it was too early to predict anything. That we would have to wait and see.

Softening is a diary film about this experience. It captures moments and reflections from our everyday lives over the past five years. It began as a film about my son, Teddy, but became a film about my family and our evolving relationships with him.