Sleeping with the Lights on

In this visually rich short film set in beautiful English woodland Medley navigates her conflicting need for solitude with the noisy demands of being a parent. Through the seasons she interacts and connects with the landscape: she sits on a branch and swings her bare feet through the breezy air, she balances with heavy walking boots on a frost covered birch log or rests, eyes closed between v shaped branches. She does these things alone, the camera mostly static giving us intimate access into these delicious retreats from the physical home. Ambient woodland sounds; a dog barking, the wind rustling leaves, distant traffic are combined with the screams, laughs and words of children remind us of the powerful bonds between parent and child: the inescapable ties of love and duty. The film creates a powerful juxtaposition between motherhood and childhood, between responsibilities and dreams.