Parida Tanti does more than cross international borders with her touching short about friendship and family, she is crossing emotions that unites our humanity. Young People, Old People & Nothing in Between is a real - and tragically relatable - story about friendship, family, and the suffering of loss.

 

Juice has a best friend: Grandma Lovely. Together they read, and walk, and talk. They make fun videos for TikTok and sign along to music. Juice (Deedee Piamwiriyakun), of course, is seven-years-old. Grandma Lovely (Suwinya Kungsadan) is experiencing an onset of early dementia. Sometimes Lovely thinks Juice is her sister. Or that she is still a young girl in school, which is down past the slaughterhouse. Juice, with all the infinite energy and imagination her youth bestows, tries to help her Grandma, her best friend, keep her memories intact. 

 

Sadly, as with all cases of dementia, this is a losing battle. Yet Tanti cleverly displays the love and care that Juice has for her Grandma, while also trying to figure out how to work around this damned disease. 

 

Young People, Old People… is presented as a short docudrama; the ever-impartial camera follows and observes. Tanti revels in happiness as Juice and Grandma, despite their drastic age difference, have fun together. That peace is soon broken once Juice discovers she is alone as Grandma is missing; physically and, slowly, mentally, too. Tanti allows the sounds of the outside world to play as a soundtrack; sometimes the thrum of traffic can be just as quiet as a still pasture.

 

Tanti ironically shows Juice at the vibrant start of her life while Lovely’s turns gray and void; Juice’s newfound maturity during Lovely’s time of need. Young People, Old People… beautifully shows the love that these two have and the importance of togetherness.