Sylvie of the Sunshine State

World Premiere

South Florida filmmaker Sasha Levinson aims the lens at her eccentric multigenerational Jewish family in an unconventional hybrid documentary offering a startlingly honest glimpse into modern motherhood that will make parents everywhere feel a little less crazy and a lot less alone. For Sasha, the act of filmmaking is a way of life, a creative outlet, and a salve for the wounds of her past. So when the external world was turning to chaos in the early stages of the COVID-19 health crisis, she decided to make a film with her daughter in an attempt to stay sane. Sylvie of the Sunshine State began as a filmmaker's experiment with the life narrative but what emerged is a therapeutic exploration of single motherhood, distance co-parenting, and multigenerational feminine trauma which ultimately gives way to healing. During the greatest mental health crisis of our time, this film provides a shockingly honest look at parenting, with the intention of helping families everywhere find peace within the knowledge that we are all gloriously imperfect.

Accompanying the film premiere is a discussion with director Sasha Levinson and moderator Nancy Zaretsky, Inclusion Specialist at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. To view the conversation please click here.