I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) was one of the first selections in the Narrative Feature Competition section at the 2021 SXSW Online Film Festival. The film, which won the Special Jury Recognition for Multi-hyphenate Storyteller, was the first feature made by Oscar, DGA winning filmmaker Kelley Kali, co-directer Angelique Molina, co-writer Roma Kong and DP Becky Baihui Chen.Review SXSW 2021 I’m Fine Thanks
The film centers on a recently widowed mother (Danny) who becomes houseless and convinces her 8-year-old daughter (Wes) that they are only camping for fun while she works to get them off the streets. Roller-skates are Danny’s only mode of transportation and she has until the end of the day to meet a strict deadline that can change the course of their lives.
Created during the height of the pandemic in June 2020 and financed in part by stimulus relief checks, the decision to create this film was, for all intents and purposes, a deliberate cinematic decision to share a point of view that reflected the world at that time.
I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) comes across as a true labor of love brought to life by a team of socially conscious filmmakers and crew that also double as the cast. The film delivers nuanced insight and constructive storytelling to our doorstep and reminds us that houselessness, a term intentionally chosen in the film’s description, can happen to anyone living paycheck to paycheck. It’s one thing to perceive it in theory but seeing it acted out in simplified and relatable cinematic fashion, provokes one’s ideology of surviving vs. thriving.
What the indie film accomplishes well is succinctly depicting the unique effects that the pandemic had on so many. The laboring challenges of appearing as though one is fine – when they’re not, and the difficult decisions that one has to make in order to stay afloat. The splash of comedic elements inside a stiff reality enhances the film’s narrative voice and allows for the viewer to breathe along with the story. As sobering as the overall message is, I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) leaves behind an honest and indelible impression.
Cast: Kelley Kali, Wesley Moss, Deon Cole, Brooklynn Marie, Steven Ira Scipio, Andrew Galvan, Lamar Usher, Brian Brooks II, Jacolyn Holmes, Xing-Mai Deng
Director: Kelley Kali, Angelique Molina
Executive Producer: Kelley Kali, Deon Cole, Capella Fahoome
Producer: Roma Kong, Angelique Molina, Kelley Kali, Capella Fahoome, Deon Cole
Screenwriter: Kelley Kali, Angelique Molina, and Roma Kong
Cinematographer: Becky Baihui Chen
Editor: Angelica López and Katie McClellan
Watch blackfilm.com interview with Co-Directors Kelley Kali & Angelique Molina
Review SXSW 2021 I’m Fine Thanks
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