In Parida Tantiwasadakran‘s Young People, Old People & Nothing in Between, we meet 7-year-old Juice who has one mission… to help Grandma Lovely retain as many memories as possible in order to halt the onset of her early dementia. The film screened at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival‘s Unstoppable Shorts Program.

The film has already garnered several awards. It has won Best Live Action Short at deadCenter Film Festival, Best Performance at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival, Best Short Film for Children at interFilm KUKI Berlin, Special Jury Mention at the Busan International Children Film Festival, among other accolades.

Tantiwasadakran describes the film as “a tribute to the power of memory and its ability to tie people together – even when fractured or underlined with error. It is also a story about loss and recollection. A mature child with ADD and a childish Grandma with Alzheimer’s. The circle of life is where we begin and end: on the reliance of other people, wishing we were on the opposite ends of the age spectrum so that we can do certains things… and when we pass, it is in the hopes that those around us will remember us.”

This endearing, funny and bittersweet story focuses on Juice becoming aware that not all is well with Grandma Lovely. From one day to the next, it feels like time is running out for both of them in some way. It is in the quiet moments on a farm, where both Juice and Grandma Lovely are able to connect and make every moment count.

I had the opportunity to speak with Tantiwasadakran in lead up to her film premiering at Slamdance. Leaving you with our conversation in hopes you learn more about the film and it piques your interest.