2022 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
Sylvie of the Sunshine State is an in-depth look at the life of a mother and daughter during the unprecedented pandemic. Sylvie Bellanca is a nine-year-old second grader with a learning disability, her mother Sasha Levinson is her primary caregiver, and her father, Todd Bellanca, lives in upstate New York, and the pandemic has made it difficult for him to be physically present. Sylvie of the Sunshine State explores the difficulties the pandemic has created regarding education, caregiving, isolation, and basic human emotions. This is the raw, unedited story of Sylvie and her mother as they navigate the ever-changing world together.
I’ve sat through the Zoom meetings, the Google Meets, and the virtual parent/teacher conferences. I’ve struggled to create lesson plans that effectively reach from the safety of my home office to my students in their homes, and I’ve seen how being home all day long, for months on end can have a seriously negative effect on my students and education as a whole. While there are many aspects and moving parts present in Sylvie of the Sunshine State, it seems that education takes precedence over everything else. Seeing Sylvie struggle through virtual learning and not fully understanding the ramifications of such a bastardized version of learning is heartbreaking. She’s nine, and the world around her is crumbling–but she can’t quite understand why. Thanks to her mother, Sasha, the footage used to create Sylvie of the Sunshine State is raw, honest, and emotionally gripping; and as the film progresses viewers can see the demeanors of both Sasha and Sylvie are changing–whether the change be good or bad.
Parenting is hard (I don’t know this from first-hand experience, but from watching family and friends), but what I imagine is even more difficult is allowing the rest of the world to enter your home and see how you parent. Sasha does just this and exposes her parenting style and opens herself up to scrutiny. Even I, the person with no kids, have some opinions on things that need to be changed. However, regardless of how others feel about her parenting, it’s commendable that Sasha wants to present the world with honesty throughout Sylvie of the Sunshine State. This honesty transcends the entirety of the film, and the end result is captivating.
It’s clear that Sylvie of the Sunshines State is low budget, and while viewers are well aware of this fact, Sasha does a wonderful job of capturing seemingly everything of importance, and Chris Brown beautifully edits her content. Sasha makes a comment about having done well in 2019 shooting commercials, and it’s clear that she has a background in film to some degree. Whatever her actual job is, she does a wonderful job of translating her talents to creating a documentary that appropriately reaches its viewers.
I’ve said it time and time again: I’m sick and tired of hearing about the pandemic in films. To clarify, however, I’m tired of hearing about the pandemic in films that have nothing to do with the pandemic. Sylvie of the Sunshine State aims to talk about the pandemic and discuss the many hardships that it caused (and still causes) people around the world. From the opening moments it feels that Sylvie of the Sunshine State captures the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic–and I’m completely behind this pandemic-related project.
There is tons of content in Sylvie of the Sunshine State; from virtual schooling, to parenting, to the terror the pandemic brought to people around the world, the documentary covers so many pivotal moments in Sylvie’s life. The documentary feels innovative in its approach toward telling this raw and often chilling tale of a mother and daughter–and it’s sure to be inviting to a wide-range of viewers.
Directed by Sasha Levinson.
Written by Sasha Levinson & Jonathan Sanford.
Starring Sylviana Bellanca, Sasha Levinson, Todd Bellanca, Aimee Sherman, Jonathan Sherman, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
