House/Grandparent

This short film paints a picture – in image and sound and without any comment – of an elderly lady's household in a suburb in Malaysia. The viewer becomes part of the atmosphere in the house. We watch as the grandmother endures an endless amount of stuff, her family members and her inevitable decline. The house is as old as the woman, but she is in better shape. Perhaps that's because of the pressed leaves from a plant in her garden that she uses to wash her hair. But maybe it's the lively household, with the many children and grandchildren running about. Or is it her stoicism? Nothing interrupts the old woman's daily routines, not even the group of carpenters replacing the wooden rafters that have been eaten away at by termites. Grandma prays, washes and lies on the floor napping, just like her cats. The handheld camera respectfully records the old woman's life, creating a miniature monument to it.