My Best Dox

The autobiographical documentary Family Meals, directed by Dana Budisavljević, revolves around family meals with subjects long hidden in family closets served as the main course. However, what a less talented filmmaker would have made an activist and predictable coming-out story, Dana makes a bittersweet exploration of relativity of moral views and intergenerational (mis)understanding. Dana draws parallels between her parents’ unconventional marriage and her coming out in order to show that what one generation sees as shocking, the next one accepts as an ordinary part of life – even though those who are stigmatised for their love choices will not necessarily show sympathy for the others. At least not immediately. An interesting thing is that Dana does not present her sexuality in the film as a problem, but as a fact, which represents an important step forward towards its normalisation.

Mario Kozina