Swaddle

Credits

Directors

Pepi Eirew

Screenwriters

Pepi Eirew

Directors Statement

“Swaddle” was created in response to the tidal wave of DNA disclosure without support. It also reflects the director’s quest looking for relatives online. The film is based on a real solo adventure - traveling to the homes of family found on an ancestry website who were really expecting a baby. From that truthful origin story, the retelling of the encounter was warped to make the meeting bizarre and uncomfortable - highlighting some of the issues around family secrets and adoption.

Peppered with long, awkward silences and extreme facial close-ups, the piece is an exaggerated representation of the director’s anxieties about meeting new relatives who are ostensibly strangers - an imagined strangest-scenario where the science of DNA runs faster than the emotional ramifications.