11 Mar SXSW Film Review – Tiny: A Story About Living Small

Photo: Courtesy of the website: http://tiny-themovie.com

Building a house can be daunting and a task that is close to my heart as I've stood by patiently while my lovely partner has been building our small-house homestead.  For the past 6 years. By himself.  Which motivated me to build a tiny solar teardrop trailer.  Took a year. By myself.

So I had a personal affinity watching SXSW Premier of Tiny: A Story About Living Small.  But even if I didn't feel comradery I would still enjoy the inspiration, motivation, and satisfaction that the movie encompassed as the story led us through the 6 months (eh-um, spoiler alert — year) of the tiny house — from idea to rolling down the road.  

Interspersed were interviews of other families and their tiny houses around the US to reveal the the tiny house is a movement toward a more deliberate lifestyle that focuses on family and relationships and less on stuff. The scenes of other's tiny homes ebbed and flowed to a sweet soundtrack through the shots of Christopher Smith and his girlfriend Merete building Smith's tiny home for his property in the mountains. 

The cinematography is nice, and the story is as simple and deliberate as the movement — paired down and to the point.  Especially nice was hearing other couple's perspectives on living in such teeny spaces (under 200 sqft) and seeing how they organize and shuffle daily livings.

A little less necessary was Merete's contemplation of helping Christopher's dreams become reality while not realizing her own only because it ended up something like an itch that was not really scratched — does she move after the job is done? Does she not move? Are we to await a sequel of the building of Merete's tiny-loft in New York City?

All in all – for someone who has been pondering picking up the hammer and just hasn't yet — this may be the motivation you need to get off the couch and build your own. Tiny: has definitely inspired me to clean out my closets and spend more time with family and friends.

TINY: A Story About Living Small 

Documentary Feature Competition, World Premiere 
D: Merete Mueller, Christopher Smith 

Monday, March 11, 11:30am, Alamo Village 

Wednesday, March 13, 3:45pm, Alamo Ritz 1