Dementia is one of the most challenging and unpredictable conditions that affects families and individuals across a wide spectrum – and the effect that it has on a loving mother and daughter is tested in the new short drama DESMOND’S NOT HERE ANYMORE.
Abigail (Yolanda Ross) is struggling to come to terms with her mother Selma (S. Epatha Merkerson) who has advanced dementia and repeatedly tests her loving but increasingly impatient resolve when she asks about Desmond, to which Abigail responds that he is not here anymore.
An incident out shopping doesn’t endear the situation, but a room in the house contains a context that could perhaps unlock a solution that would help both parties…
Mmabatho Montsho’s involving and affecting short taps into the bonds of family and trauma in a subtle and gradual revelation that gives the audience a real sense of what it means to live with an incurable condition. Good performances from the leads assure a terrific experience, thanks to writer Lindiwe Suttle Müller-Westernhagen’s solid script.
Check out some more stills from the short here:
ABOUT THE FILM-MAKER:
MMABATHO MONTSHO
An award-winning writer and director and holds a Master of Art in Screen and Screenwriting. Her work largely privileges women, their stories and emancipation. After transitioning from acting to writing and directing, she quickly gained a reputation as a sought-after storyteller.
She has produced critically acclaimed and independent films that have screened at multiple renowned international film festivals. Montsho directed and staffed as writer on some of South Africa and Africa’s leading drama series (e.g. Locked Down S1 & S3; Blood & Water S2; MTV SHUGA). Her subsequent short films, The Award Ceremony and Joko Ya Hao, have been selected in various international film festivals, with Joko Ya Hao nominated for Best Short Film at the South Africa Film & Television Awards, and The Award Ceremony, winning Best Short Film at the Worldwide Women’s Film Festival.
Director Statement
“Inspired by the writer’s long-held secret, Desmond’s Not Here Anymore explores the role of memory in intimate relationships through a strained mother-daughter bond, in which a daughter struggles to overcome the torment of a painful memory that her mother simply cannot remember.
Directed by Mmabatho Montsho, and written by award-winning screenwriter Lindiwe Suttle Müller- Westernhagen, Desmond’s Not Here Anymore is a surprisingly cathartic price of cinema.”
The Paris International Film Festival 2022 runs online from 10th – 20th February 2022. Tickets and info at:
https://www.parisintlfest.com/
