Between the Lines
A Mother’s Day film about the unspoken ways a mother tries to reach her daughter, told through her search history.
- Type
- Long film
- Role
- Director, writer, cinematographer, editor
- Year
- 2025
The idea
Most Mother’s Day videos say thank you. I wanted to show something harder to see: the quiet, slightly clumsy ways my mother tries to keep up with my world. The film follows her search history, from looking up the internet slang I use to replaying my voice messages, to show a kind of love that doesn’t always find the right words.
The story moves from curiosity and humor, to heartache, to guilt, and finally to coming home.
How I made it
I wrote the script and shot list, directed and filmed every scene, and edited the film in CapCut. My mother played herself.
Color carries the emotional arc. The film opens with a warm, retro film look, turns to a cold green tint when the distance sets in, and ends in a soft, creamy warmth when we’re together again. I hand-drew the animated text in Procreate so it would feel like a handwritten note, and recorded and cleaned up the voice-over myself.
What I learned
The thumbnail didn’t get many clicks at first. I studied how other creators pair one clear image with a short line of copy, and I’ve used that approach since. I also learned that a full-length film doesn’t work on short-video platforms, so now I cut short teasers for those and publish the full film on YouTube.
