Three sisters craft a
lyrical tribute to their mother from old family VHS tapes
The UK filmmaker Jay Stephen’s mother, Aju, had known her
future husband for just seven hours before they were married in an arranged
ceremony in India in 1987. At 22 years old, her life’s path seemed
laid out without her input. Soon, she was pursuing the ‘great British dream’ in
London, caught between identities as she adopted a Westernised look and tried
to hide her accent. Her three daughters became the ‘three legs of a tripod’
used to stabilise the wobbly foundation of her marriage.
In the short film Brown Brit, each of these
three ‘legs’ celebrates their mother’s love, sacrifice and, later, her brave
decision to make her own path. For the work, Stephen and her filmmaking partner
Ralph Briscoe, who together form The Romantix, repurposed 12 years of
family VHS footage to tell Aju’s story. In the rich fabric of the work, these
pixelated, colourful scenes function as powerful signifiers of private moments
in time and place, while evoking the haziness of memory.
The images are paired with a lyrical essay by Stephen’s
sister, Ashica Stephen, which conjures turmeric-stained hands and pashminas tied
over Levi’s jeans as it describes Aju’s stifling life – and her ultimate
decision to break free of it. The third sister, Deepica Stephen, provides an
emotive voiceover and depicts Aju in the newly shot scenes that close out the
film. An accomplished work of personal filmmaking, the piece is both a loving
tribute to one mother’s strength and a powerful testament to the ripple effect
of a parent’s choices across generations.
Directors: Jay Stephen, Ralph Briscoe
Writer: Ashica Stephen
Narrator: Deepica Stephen
Website: The Romantix
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