Experimental/Short/Student
Directed by
Sara Roos Klijn
‘The Beginning of Growing’ is an experimental short film about growing up and feeling different in an environment where that is not appreciated and accepted. The film starts out with a group of people called ‘the normals’, who represent this environment, moving with each other. The protagonist of the film suddenly breaks through, this is her ‘birth’. She’s different from the normals, but she doesn’t notice that, she’s seeing the ‘world’ for the first time. That is, until she gets dragged down by the normals for being different. The protagonist struggles against them at first, but she can’t win. They leave her behind. She realizes she has to change to be accepted, which is visualized by the change into the same beige clothing. Suppressing herself might be more ‘safe’, but leaves her feeling empty.
The next phase represents wanting to find out who you really are and trying things out little by little, but being too afraid to stick to something. The protagonist sits in a grass field covered with beads of different sizes and colors, which she starts making a necklace of while her outfit constantly changes. The beads are different kinds of experiences throughout her youth: happy, sad, traumatizing, loving, confusing and more. Once the necklace is done, she examining it, which is quite an emotional process. She notices a mirror, which helps her truly see herself for the first time. She starts to slowly accept herself and her past as something that makes her who she is.
However, going into the third phase, she notices a group of people are looking at her. She is startled and recoils. These people are ‘the others’, a group of friends who is very different from each other, yet very expressive and open minded. They appreciate each other for who they are. This group is dancing with each other and the leader invites the protagonist to join them, but even though she’s curious, she doesn’t feel safe enough. After watching from a safe distance, she gets invited by another group member. This member is more gentle and the protagonist accepts the invite. Dancing with the group, she’s experiencing something new: true friendship and acceptance. She feels safe and free for the first time. The film ends with the protagonist looking empowered and happy into the camera while dancing in the middle of the group.
Throughout the film, she goes through the motions of learning to accept herself for who she is and eventually braves the road to self-expression with the help of a chosen family.
