Family Rewritten

Directed and Produced by Yasmin Mistry Foster Care Film by Idesygn Creative, 2017, 13 minutes, www.fostercarefilm.com “Family Rewritten” shares the story of Camilla as she struggles to maintain her health suffering from cystic fibrosis, a chronic condition, while living in an unclean, chaotic environment with her parents. As her parents’ lives continue to unravel when her mom loses her job and her father sinks deeper into alcoholism, Camilla reaches out for help and hope. She finds both with her best friend Maja and her family, When the Department of Children and Family Services is eventually involved in Camilla’s situation, Maja’s family officially becomes her foster parents and helps the teen get her health and life back under control. While her parents still struggle, and ultimately her dad dies due to his alcoholism, Camilla finds a way forward. While this is a short film at only 13 minutes, it packs a powerful message about the complexity of relationships and the importance of stable homes for children. The film does a good job of getting to the heart of Camilla’s story and allowing the viewer to experience Camilla’s story through her words and struggles she faced. “Family Rewritten” could be used in several different settings from helping foster parents understand the difficult feelings and relationships associated with foster care to giving current foster youth hope from Camilla’s story. Ultimately, “Family Rewritten” is well-done and provides a unique glimpse of one foster child’s experience and through story we can all learn much. — Reviewed by Kim Phagan-Hansel