Childhood

Written and directed by Dave Alexander Smith & Richard Bailey

2023

Reel Twenty Five

A compact 4-minute short comes courtesy of Midlands Movies Awards 2023 Best Editing nominees Dave Alexander Smith & Richard Bailey who deliver an emotional drama in their new film Childhood.

We are introduced to a 16-year-old girl called Sophie (an excellent Annie Jarvis) who has to care for her younger brother (Elis Socha as Charlie) as they appear to have no parental support.

The directors open their film with an excellent cut from Sophie living her life as a young adolescent on stage before it switches to the harsher realities of her more adult-style role as a caregiver.

Rushing her brother off to school each day, we then return to Sophie’s love of performance in a drama class as she practices dance moves with fellow pupils.

But very soon she has to pick up her brother and they once again return home and this time we are shown a host of unwashed cutlery and dishes in the kitchen. With the microwave about to pack up too, the responsibilities on Sophie’s youthful shoulders are heavy and she just about manages to feed both of them before heading to the park to spend some much-needed time with her friends.

As the household mess builds up, there’s a sense of repetition as Charlie again does not want to go to school on another morning. The filmmakers do well by replaying the same difficult situation as something that regularly happens day in and day out.

Eventually, her teacher discovers the overwhelming situation, and we get a montage of clever edits that show the two youngsters being set up with a foster carer in the absence of any guardian.

Ending with a smile and an exuberant stage performance we return to Sophie being able to enjoy her own childhood moments. And alongside, we see her foster carer show support in the audience, whilst scenes of a picnic show Charlie, and others, receiving the care and social interaction they sorely need.

Childhood contains a lot in its brief runtime and is a great example of editing, structure and character development within the limitations of a short film. The story is well-defined and although Annie Jarvis doesn’t have a lot of screentime, she brilliantly manages to weave in strength and resilience into her empathetic role.

The filmmakers’ background in elevating foster care issues is plain to see, and the film gives some context of its production as a social film learning experience. But this simply adds to its well thought out narrative, one which portrays the subject in a very engaging way.

With my own background with young people at Home-Start, the short really hit home many of the topics I've witnessed families facing in the UK today. But whether experienced as an educational tool or a dramatic piece in its own right, Childhood is certainly a fantastic slice of short filmmaking, allowing a talented young lead actress to shine as well as shining its own light on an important subject with both compassion and heart.

★★★★½

4.5/5

Michael Sales