05/11/2024 - Slovak filmmaker Daniela Meressa Rusnoková offers an introspective look at the emotional and societal challenges of premature birth and raising a child with disabilities

Slovak filmmaker Daniela Meressa Rusnoková’s Grey Zone, introduced in the First Lights competition at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, netted three awards (see the news) at the largest Czech documentary gathering. In it, Rusnoková tackles the topic of premature birth, capturing a mother's visceral experience when her newborn’s survival is uncertain. The term “grey zone” refers not only to the medical ambiguity surrounding the viability of infants born at 24 weeks, but also the emotional limbo in which the parents of such children find themselves. The introspective documentary captures the mother’s conflicted reality as she navigates her child’s uncertain health prospects while also going further, following the process of raising a child with a disability.

Rusnoková, a documentarian focusing on marginalised communities and social issues, embraces a confessional style in Grey Zone. Her previous work, often ethnographic in nature, has tackled topics from Roma settlements in Slovakia to the experiences of disabled children. In her latest work, the director turns the lens inwards, drawing on personal experience to offer an unfiltered view of motherhood and parenting a premature child, effectively universalising the struggle. In essence, the film is a time-lapse documentary with Rusnoková and her children being the central focus.

Its stylistic approach oscillates between intimate close-ups and domestic sequences, juxtaposing clinical footage of neonatal care with contemplative moments at home that convey the internal landscape of the protagonist, thus combining an observational approach with diaristic and essayistic filmmaking. The director uses archival materials from hospitals combined with footage shot in her home that shifts from early worries about the survival of her child to concerns about how her growing son will integrate into society, while she makes ends meet taking care of two more children. The film tackles the broader societal implications of premature birth and raising a child with a disability, raising questions about the social services’ ability to support such families, as well as the personal sacrifices such a situation entails.

In the end credits, the director reveals that the script was informed by the anonymous testimonies of mothers facing similar experiences. This portrait captures the complex ordeals that such mothers encounter, focusing on the psychological and emotional needs that arise amid isolation, burnout and existential stress. Shifting its focus from the healthcare system's limited empathy, the film becomes a self-reflective social portrait, delving into the personal struggles of a single mother and shedding light on the dilemmas and obstacles faced by parents in similar predicaments. Rusnoková avoids the inclusion of talking heads or any commentary from doctors or social workers. Instead, she presents the mother’s journey from hoping for her newborn’s survival to navigating the numerous rehabilitative steps needed for her child’s development as he grows up and seeks connections with his peers.

Grey Zone was produced by Žudro, and co-produced by Punkchart Films, MERESSA company and Radio and Television Slovakia.