“Kelly shows a family struggle to feel complete”
A film that speaks to both the LGBT+ community and anyone with a family history that has caused pain, fragmented relationships or unanswered questions, Kelly sees two relatives reconnect, remember the past and start to heal. We chat to director, Solene Guichard, following our #FilmFriday screening of the short film.
“Kelly was an idea that started out with a reflection around gender and family, especially with these questions: How is it to come out as transgender to your family? What are the reactions, the words exchanged or the unsaid thoughts? What are the feelings involved? How to best describe them? This is what I chose to explore in this film,” explains Solene.
“I think the LGBTQ+ community needs more representation in the media. A few voices start to be heard along with their stories,” Solene continues. “However, we need more characters inspired and played by them. I felt the need to tell a story that is both truthful and honest about a transgender character and to explore her family relationship, not her transition.”
“Because Kelly shows a family struggle to feel complete, this film will not only speak to the LGBTQ+ community. I believe most of us have a family history. Someone has disappeared, is addicted, or did something that ripped the family apart,” Solene says. “This film represents the families with a straight face that cripples in the middle of the conversation because of its past.”
“To show this, the characters in this film stand in the half-emptied rooms or in a mess that triggers vivid and painful memories. They keep their distance, installing awkwardness until a word is said to open the wound that needs healing. It shows when the unsaid emerges. It’s also about opening up, accepting the hard truth, forgiving ignorance and listening to the other person’s suffering.
Solene concludes: “The best way to reconnect is to remember the past and realise what we have in common. I think this film shows this in a heartwarming way.