August Greetings!

Many of us are still staying at home, or close to home, with thoughts of past summers often springing to mind. But thanks to streaming, we can experience spectator sports, socialize in big groups, armchair travel, and watch theater and music performances. We’ve discovered we can get equally interested in offerings that celebrate homes. One stands out in particular: 306 Hollywood, a film that shows how profoundly the co-directors, a brother and sister, were affected by the dwelling they knew intimately as children. 

 

306 Hollywood is a magical realist documentary by Jonathan and Elan Bogarín,  filmmakers who took on an important task: to clear out their beloved grandmother’s house after her death. Every Sunday for thirty years, Jonathan and Elan visited grandmother Annette Ontell in her New Jersey home, and as adult filmmakers, they also regularly interviewed her on camera. When she died, the siblings convinced their mother to postpone the sale and to let them do an “archaeological dig” through the contents of the house, making a filmed record of their discoveries. Layer by layer, image by image, they examined, arranged, and cataloged thousands of objects; in estate sale terminology, it was a "packed house." Months became years, and their early documentation grew into a lively, creative, and surprising visual exploration of Ontell’s environment of seven decades, her past as a fashion designer, and her philosophy of life. There is even a wild moment of suspense when her grandchildren attempt to persuade her on camera to undress and try on one of the cocktail gowns she’d designed decades before. The film was first shown on PBS’s POV series, and it’s available on Amazon Prime.

 

Here is the link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUIThTQgX8w 

 

If you’ve gone through the profound experience of clearing out a childhood home, you may have the start of a good story. We would love to read memories of your early home, either while you lived there, or after you moved out and perhaps became responsible for its dismantlement. We are happy to do gentle editing if you’d like. Feel free to email us at childhoodhomestories@gmail.com with questions or ideas.  

 

All the best, 

Laurie and Susan   

Click here for the OCH Web site

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