Sweet Thing

Alexandre Rockwell

It’s Christmas Eve in Massachusetts, and as the siblings, 11-year-old Nico and 15-year-old Billie, go home to their nice but drunk father, Adam, it’s clear that there won’t be many presents under the Christmas tree! The kids are sent to stay with their abusive mom Eve and stepdad Beaux, while their father is in rehab. The children ultimately run away, accompanied by the charming teenager Jabari Watkins, and find a life for themselves, free of authoritarian grown-ups. Montages which flick between black & white and colour locate ‘Sweet Thing’ in a magical yet realist dreamscape. Starring the director’s wife, Karyn Parsons, and his two children, Nico and Lana Rockwell, the film won the Crystal Bear at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival, Generation K+.