2022

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Directed by Jenifer Malmqvist

Sofia, Hedvig and Maja grew up in the countryside in southern Sweden with their mother Carolina – a charming, lively, and dedicated mother.
In 2010, Carolina took her own life. The same day that Hedvig turned 10 years old. Maja was the one who found her. Sofia only remembers that everyone prevented her from looking in through the windows. There were three girls left, aged 8, 10, and 16.

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Today they are young women. Their lives have continued, but they have each struggled to cope with their great loss. They have hardly talked about their mother's suicide with each other, with friends or family, and they rarely mention it to new acquaintances. Only recently did Sofia find out that their mother suffered from bipolar disorder, something that was not obvious to the girls while their mother was alive.
Now, as they move into adulthood, all three feel the need to make sense of their experiences and talk more openly about their mother's death.
Director Jenifer Malmqvist met the sisters in 2011. She started filming them almost immediately and followed them through a difficult year in their lives. Now, a decade later, Jenifer meets them again and tries to understand their journey through grief.
The sisters share memories and their own interpretations of the events leading up to and following their mother's suicide. The film documents this intimate process and also the everyday life lived as they struggle with their loss and the aftershocks of the trauma. With the unusual look that footage from both the sisters' childhood and the present gives, Døtre conveys a unique perspective on grief and loss.
And, most importantly: a hope for those in similar situations.

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