Human Negligence

Alexandra is preparing for a party at her estate with her divorced daughter Iris and her dog-talking granddaughter Xenia, everything is taken care of by Tamara, the beloved housekeeper. Guests arrive and lavish meals are served. But, a fire ravages the forest nearby. When a government warning is issued guests panic, but Alexandra reassures them that they're safe and captivates them in a performance which brings the entire party to its feet, where everyone dance like never before. However, the party is shutdown by firemen, who force everyone to evacuate. As they drive off, the women witness the destruction of their house, Alexandra runs back to save her money which she admits she has stuffed in the walls. The other women leave her in the forest and reach lifeboats at the shore where Tamara abandons them, having stolen the money Alexandra has run to get. The women witness the fire as they sail away to safety having lost everything but each other. The next morning the forest is lifeless.

Director’s statement
Inspired by current events, our story is about four generations of women who try to balance their dysfunctional relationships in a life-and-death situation: a mandatory evacuation of their home due to a devastating fire. We hope the fire and the environmental implication of the fire, becomes a metaphor for human negligence both interpersonally and on a global level. Through the exploration of the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, we explore what it means to be a woman at different ages and across generations. We are interested in finding the comedy as these relationships are tested in a stressful situation. Our relationship to the planet isn’t unlike an abusive mother-daughter relationship. As humans, we’ve been careless about the damage we inflict on our surroundings and those we love. Much like our characters, we’ve been greedily draining our resources and disrupting the ecosystem and yet we’re still shocked when our homes inevitably erupt into flames.