Rob Munday
Exploring themes of grief in filmmaking is far from a new concept. Many have tried to capture the chaos of loss on-screen, but to truly convey the profound impact of losing a loved one, a filmmaker must immerse the audience in that experience, rather than making them feel like detached observers. In Zara Dwinger’s A Holiday From Mourning, the Dutch director adopts a novel approach to capturing the grieving process, and the results are devastatingly effective.
A Holiday From Mourning opens as one might expect a film about death to begin: muted colors, a somber tone, and numerous shots of people in tears. However, within just 60 seconds, after a brief title screen, we’re whisked away to a world of neon lights and carefree partying, as the short’s teenage protagonist Lila seeks to escape her grief with a booze-fuelled holiday abroad.
Despite its brevity, the contrast between the opening 60 seconds and what follows creates a jarring experience. The transition from one of life’s most harrowing moments to a place known for hedonism amplifying the impact of Lila’s grief rather than diminishing it. Witnessing how she externalises her loss compels the audience to consider her internal struggle, creating a deeply empathetic response.
Sara Luna Zoric impresses as Lila in A Holiday From Mourning
It’s a clever move by Dwinger, as accurately capturing grief requires it to feel lived rather than imagined. In A Holiday From Mourning, you experience the devastation alongside Lila, trapped in her perspective and unable to escape the suffocating misery. While the setting may suggest a time of freedom and unburdened joy, that is far from the reality for Lila. As her vacation ends and she makes sober return to a reality she never truly escaped, the final shot of her crying in her dad’s arms serves as a poignant reminder that this is a pain from which we cannot run.
Grief is something we’ll all have to experience at some point in our lives and while it’s not a feeling you’ll be eager to immerse yourself in, if you want an accurate depiction of it then you need look no further than A Holiday From Mourning. Dwinger’s third short to feature on S/W, after Liv and Yulia & Juliet, the filmmaker released her debut feature, Kiddo, in 2023, with the film screening at Berlinale.