Last night I went to the opening screening of the 37th annual Big Muddy Film Festival. There was a very good turn out and I enjoyed the short films very much. The feature film that was highlighted stuck with me the most however, Little White Lie by Lacey Schwartz was a brilliant documentary.
The documentary follows the very personal story of a girl who was raised by a Jewish family in Woodstock, New York. She struggled with her identity because she looked darker than her other family members. Her family told her that her skin color was a product of a distant relative but that although her skin was dark, she was in fact white. As the documentary progresses the family secret is revealed that her mother had, had an affair with a black friend. The secret ultimately broke the marriage and the lack of communication nearly broke up the family. But, through the persistence of Lacey's need to communicate and know more she was able to not only resolve the troubled family history but gain an understanding about her self as a black woman.
This film was incredibly inspiring to me as a documentary filmmaker. More and more I'm learning that the best films address the topics that are close to home and it encourages me to take on topics that are difficult for me. Lacey acknowledged that addressing her families secrets didn't fix everything between her parents and her family but it did give her resolve enough to move on with her life with confidence and peace.
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