Sashinka

Sasha (Carla Turcotte) is a 22-year-old Montreal musician one day away from her big break, a nightclub gig in front of some industry professionals. But while having a night in with her friends to calm her pre-performance nerves, said nerves get frayed when Sasha's estranged mother, Elena (Natalia Dontcheva), appears at her doorstep. Broke, manic, and apparently homeless, Elena had recently hit it big gambling in Atlantic City only to have her young boyfriend run off with the earnings, and she's come to find emotional support in her own flesh and blood, her little Sashinka. Elena promises to only stay the night but quickly oversteps Sasha's well-defined boundaries. And when the big day arrives, it becomes clear what tore mother and daughter apart in the first place. Both mother and daughter struggle against their own anxieties of their tenuous existence - Sasha's self-assigned nickname is "Nobody"; Elena's greatest fear is being forgotten - but maybe this time, somebody will notice them. (Seattle International Film Festival)