POV Shorts Screening at the DCTV Firehouse Theater
by Jason Godbey
Recently I had the opportunity to attend a screening of two PBS POV Shorts, Until He’s Back and A Swim Lesson at the DCTV Firehouse Theater. There was a Q & A (video above) with directors Jacquelin Baylon and Will McCormack which was moderated by POV shorts producer Opal Bennet.
The films could not be more different. Until He’s Back is the story of a grieving father who struggles to find a way to return his son’s remains to Morocco after learning he has died at sea attempting to immigrate to Spain. It’s also the story of a Spanish mortician who works tirelessly attempting to give the father and many other families closure.
Until He’s Back is a beautifully photographed and effective film that shines a light on a politically-charged issue. The short takes us on the high seas for a rescue of an overloaded boat desperately trying to reach Spanish shores as we follow the members of an NGO who attempt save them. Baylon brings us this harrowing and heartbreaking tale giving this crisis that affects the world over a human face.
A Swim Lesson is a cinematic portrait of Bill Marsh, a swim instructor in Los Angeles who works with children as young as two years old. The film reveals his no-nonsense/zen-like approach to teaching as well as the teacher’s subjects, toddlers some of whom are terrified of putting their face in the water.
The film also points out the high percentage of child deaths that occur from drowning each year and how preventable those things would be if children learned to swim from an early age. Co-directors Will McCormack and Rashida Jones are both parents who recognized the danger and sought out Marsh to instruct their children.
Although, not the harrowing tale of high-seas rescue like Until He’s Back, Jones and McCormack still manage to build suspense as anxious parents watch their little ones venture into the pool crying for their mothers who must sit patiently while their child learns this precious life-skill. There are no screaming migrants jumping off a ship and swimming to a rescue boat, but there are screaming toddlers who trying not to drown.
In addition to painting a loving portrait of Bill Marsh, A Swim Lesson is also a tale about a child’s first step into a larger world. As Marsh points out, when you’re swimming, no one can do it for you. Like so many things in life, you’re on your own, and whether or not you survive is up to you. It’s an important lesson to be learned at such a young age that once learned leaves a lasting impression on the children and their parents.
Both Until He’s Back and A Swim Lesson have been short-listed for this year’s Academy Awards and can be viewed on the PBS website.
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Originally published at http://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com on January 14, 2025.
