OCFF 2021 - Through the Night

The 5th annual Ocean City Film Festival (OCFF) is virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's all online, running from March 4 to 11. OCFF 2021 has a collection of short films and features, numbering about 80 titles total. Every night, there will be a feature that is broadcast online. Some are one-time screenings, meaning they can't be streamed 24/7 like the others. They can only be seen once and at that specific time or you miss it. This film is a one-time screening. It has to be viewed live, so if you're not there for the live event, you will miss it.

This documentary from director Loira Limbal is about a small business called Dee's Tots Childcare, which is a daycare in New Rochelle, NY. It's such a small business that it consists of only two people who work there. It's a middle-age, African-American couple, a husband and wife who work out of their own home basically where they take care of other people's children who live in the neighborhood. It's mostly a space for impoverished or struggling parents of color, either Black or Latino parents who are often single mothers who need a safe and affordable place for their children to stay, sometimes over night. Sometimes, it's dozens of children per day in their relatively small home.

Limbal's film warmly and unobtrusively follows both the husband named Patrick or Pop Pop and the wife named Nunu. We see both of them just lovingly and sometimes sternly take care of these children. At the same time, we get a glimpse of what the parents of these children have to do in order to survive. It shows the strength and dedication of these parents, but also the heartbreaking difficulties, especially for people of color who just want a good, if not better life for their kids. Through those difficulties, we also see the love, the love the parents have, as well as the love that Nunu has for not only the children but for their parents as well.

The film also profiles Nunu and gives us an understanding of who she is and how she and her husband got into this business. We see how committed she is, how hard-working and much of an incredible soul she is. The dramatic question becomes if she's wearing herself down or giving too much of herself in the pursuit of her work and in the pursuit of helping people in the neighborhood. It might sound too noble, but her long days and even long nights start to have an effect seemingly, which might put her in a crossroads. Limbal's documentary beautifully shows this and certainly pulls on one's heartstrings in wonderful ways.

Through the Night.
Running Time: 75 minutes.
Tuesday, March 9 at 8 PM.
Access the film only on March 9 here.

For more information, go to http://www.ocmdfilmfestival.com/.
Access the virtual festival through Eventive here.