Homegoing

The Covid-19 pandemic has had multiple and unsuspected effects on us, both on an individual and social level. A young Korean couple trapped in a flat in the United States loses all sense of time, space and orientation, until they ultimately reach a state of unreality. While waiting for their Green Cards to arrive in order to be able to travel outside the US, the loop of banal daily activities (watching TV, cooking, having friendly online meetings or playing games) can turn out to be strange, and in that disoriented state, the idea of homeland may seem like a distant memory. Finally, when the couple’s goal of returning to their loved ones in Korea is fulfilled, they are forced to isolate themselves once again and undergo a new quarantine. This delicate piece, narrated by the filmmaker, retraces the earliest effects the lockdown had on our daily lives, revealing the limitations, frustrations, sadness, fears and impossibilities this unexpected situation put us through, and reflects on going home when the very meaning of “home” has been lost.

Violeta Bava