Experiencing Interruptions?

Sonja is waiting for dad

Short anima-doc on difficulties in caring for children with special developmental needs in single parent families. Sonja is expecting her absent father for her tenth birthday. Her mother is trying to help her cope. Sonja is on the autism spectrum. This makes things even more difficult and confusing for both of them.

  •  Lena Ritter
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Documentary, Student
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 20, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Russian Federation
  • Country of Filming:
    Russian Federation
  • Language:
    Russian
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1,66:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - School of documentary animation at the "Rudnik-2023" festival
  • Saratov Sufferings Documentary Drama Film Festival
    Saratov
    Russian Federation
    September 5, 2024
    National
    short
Director Biography -  Lena Ritter

Independent documentary filmmaker seeking asylum in Argentina. Born in 1978 in Krasnodar, Russia. Forced to leave Russia in 2023 due to persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals. Studied psychology, contemporary art, and documentary theater before graduating from the Moscow School of New Cinema, where they attended Artur Aristakisyan's directing laboratory. Their debut feature documentary, 'No Man is an Island,' was screened in the national competition of the Message to Man IFF in 2022 in Sankt-Petersburg. Currently developing new projects that explore themes of identity, belonging, and human rights while building a new life in Buenos Aires

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Director Statement

Director's statement on the relevance of the film to the topic of mental health.

The film's protagonists are a mother and daughter, with the daughter being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The mother supports her daughter in the way she feels is best, rather than following institutional guidelines. The filmmaker is an experimental documentary filmmaker, a close family friend, and an expert in working with children with special needs. The film aims to increase the visibility of autism while considering the ethical implications of a non-autistic person creating this documentation. The author is concerned with how to talk about this girl without focusing solely on her diagnosis or symptoms. The story centers around a specific episode in her life: waiting for her absent father on her birthday. This short film explores a common situation for girls and mothers but is particularly challenging for the two. It is part of a larger documentary project dedicated to this subject.