How Do You Measure a Year?

When his daughter Ella turned two, director Jay Rosenblatt started an annual ritual, filming her as he asked her questions. What do you want to do when you grow up? What are your dreams? What is power? What are you most scared of? Always leaning against the same cushion, Ella gives new and surprising answers each year. She is scared of being different. She describes power as the ability to do good. She wants to be intelligent. We watch Ella grow up before our very eyes. She learns sign language, and she becomes a vegan. The leaps she makes as a human being are astonishing to witness, even though they are the same leaps we made too.

When Ella turns 15, adulthood enters the scene. But she has also lost something. The role of the camera changes once she is able to understand its power. She gains a more confident expression, and often insists on singing a bit. The sense of trust between father and daughter remains intact, however, because Ella has been doing this her whole life. By now, the viewer has their own questions: Is Ella a reflection of her environment, or are we looking into the soul of a unique individual? Such are the great themes raised by this short film.