Mekhai Lee Explores Family, Grief, and Deaf Representation in SXSW Short Film Them That’s Not
- TYREE POPE III
- Mar 17
- 3 min read
Director Mekhai Lee brings a deeply personal story to SXSW with his short film Them That’s Not, a powerful exploration of grief, communication, and family reconciliation.
Inspired by Billie Holiday’s classic song God Bless the Child, the film follows Drea, a deaf young woman returning home to her hearing family during a repass after the death of a loved one.
What she does not expect is the presence of her estranged father.
Recently granted a single day of freedom from prison, he arrives hoping to reconnect.
Grief as the Starting Point
Lee’s connection to the story is deeply personal.
While developing the project, he experienced several losses in his own family, including the passing of his grandmother.
Those experiences shaped the emotional foundation of the film.
Rather than portraying grief as purely solemn, Lee drew inspiration from how Black families often navigate loss together.
Funerals and repasses can carry both sadness and celebration.
Families gather, eat, laugh, and reconnect while honoring the life of the person who passed.
That mixture of joy and sorrow became a defining element of the film’s tone.
Isolation Inside the Family
At the center of the story is Drea’s sense of isolation.
As a deaf person in a hearing family, she constantly navigates spaces where communication is limited.
Her relatives love her, but they often fail to meet her on her terms.
Lee worked closely with actor Angel Theory, who plays Drea, to ensure the experience felt authentic.
He also collaborated with a deaf ASL director to accurately represent how deaf individuals observe the world differently.
Camera framing and blocking were carefully designed to reflect that perspective.
Where hearing audiences often focus on faces, deaf communication requires attention to hands, body language, and full spatial awareness.
Mirrored Isolation
The film’s emotional core lies in the relationship between Drea and her father, Samuel.
Although their lives have taken different paths, Lee intentionally mirrors their experiences.
Both characters exist on the margins of the family.
Samuel has been physically absent for decades due to incarceration.
Drea, meanwhile, has been emotionally isolated despite living among them her entire life.
Visually, Lee reinforces this idea by frequently placing both characters alone in the frame.
Even when surrounded by family members, they exist slightly outside the center of the group.
A Story About Community
Although the film begins with isolation, its ultimate message centers on community.
Lee was particularly inspired by the cultural impact of Billie Holiday’s God Bless the Child.
Originally written about independence and self reliance, the song later became associated with civil rights and collective empowerment.
Lee wanted to challenge the modern interpretation of hyper independence.
For him, the film argues the opposite.
Community is necessary.
Sometimes it appears in unexpected places.
Even in relationships that feel broken.
Finding Joy in Grief
One of the most striking aspects of Them That’s Not is the presence of humor.
Despite the heavy subject matter, the film captures the warmth and laughter that often accompany Black family gatherings.
From playful conversations to familiar family traditions like the infamous “cousin walk,” the film grounds its emotional moments in cultural authenticity.
For Lee, that balance between grief and joy reflects reality.
Even in moments of loss, families find ways to celebrate life.
SXSW Debut
For Lee, premiering the film at SXSW marks an important milestone.
It is his first time attending the festival, and he hopes audiences connect with the film’s themes of reconciliation and understanding.
Ultimately, Them That’s Not asks a simple but powerful question.
If love is communication, what happens when families refuse to learn each other’s language?
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