Sophy Romvari on Grief, Memory, and Her Debut Feature Blue Heron

Writer-director Sophy Romvari discusses her debut feature Blue Heron, a film that explores grief, memory, and family history through the story of Sasha, a woman revisiting her childhood after her brother's death. The film follows eight-year-old Sasha (Eylul Guven) during a Nineties summer on Vancouver Island, where her brother Jeremy (Edik Beddoes) exhibits erratic behavior. Later, adult Sasha (Amy Zimmer) processes Jeremy's death by making a documentary. Romvari, known for hybrid documentary shorts, draws on her own family history but emphasizes that the film is not pure autobiography. She aims for 'emotional truth' rather than factual accuracy, blurring the real and imagined past. Cinematographer Maya Bankovic uses distance and slow zooms to capture a child's watchfulness, inspired by Romvari's father's home videos. The film incorporates documentary tools like case files and home videos, and features a scene where adult Sasha time-travels to the 90s via a phone call. Romvari worked with social workers using her family's case files. The film ends with letters that humanize Jeremy. Blue Heron releases in UK cinemas on 26 June.