Review: I Watched Her Grow

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Official synopsis:  Ada (Michelle Colman Padron), who has a proclivity for plants uses her talents to take care of her ailing mother Mirren (Eloisa Cardona). When Mirren dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances, Ada spends the next seven years isolating herself from the world. One day, she hears a mysterious song, drawing her to a hidden creek, as well as Wren (Taylor Freeman), a spirited teenager with whom she develops a close friendship. 

I Watched Her Grow's crew was more than 50% women, and 75% of those identifying as BIPOC. Because of this, it was awarded the prestigious ReFrame stamp. I love to see this type of representation in film, and how wonderful for first time director Shea Formanes.

Formanes has written quite a few op-eds, ones that I had read even before finding out she directed this film, so I'm not surprised at all that the story is the highpoint. It's part coming-of-age, part sci-fi fantasy. At a very brisk 66 minutes, it never has time to be dull. 

Colman Padron and Freeman have great chemistry together. One thing I feel like I have to mention is that everyone involved with this film is very green. Because of that, some scenes feel stilted or the sound and editing are not as polished as they could be, but this film was made on a $10,000 budget per IMDb. I think with a different editor, if they had cut this down to a short film, it would be better than a handful of the Oscar nominated Shorts I've watched over the past few years. 

I only point that out because if it were a big budget film, I'd do the same, but I can't stress enough how much I just enjoyed the plot of this movie and how strong writing can make you overlook some technical aspects. It brings to mind The Light and the Sufferer. Another very low budget film that had great ideas.

I Watched Her Grow premieres today at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival

Grade: B


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