Smile4Kime

Elena Guzman

2023 / 26 minutes
USA

Winner: Honorable Mention - Jean Rouch Award
Recognizes films that make exemplary use of ethnofiction techniques or that are produced in a collaborative manner embodying the spirit of Rouch's "anthropologie partagée" (shared anthropology).

Smile4Kime is a short documentary that explores the friendship between two women: Kime–a vibrant, unapologetic Black woman who lived with mental illness, and Elena–an Afro-Puerto Rican woman and devoted friend coping with grief in the wake of Kime’s death.

This story begins as a conversation between Kime and Elena unfolding across time and space. They ask each other about who they are, what they need, and what their future holds. As Kime’s mental health begins to spiral, the film urgently weaves together the past, present, and future in search of answers.

Smile4Kime follows in the experimental autoethnographic tradition of Marlon Riggs, Tongues Untied (1989) by incorporating different visual styles, cinéma vérité, poetry, and experimental animation to trace something that is deeply personal, emotional, and spiritual as well as politically urgent. Smile4Kime explores the impact of social stigma and institutional barriers Black women face when seeking support. It is also a story about friendship, chosen family, and how we let others in.