Imagine a jovial, vibrant, grandmother with a rather dark past but is able to maintain her liveliness to this day. That is what this documentary is about. A year ago my friend Tanner Smith came to me with this idea and asked if I could help out on the project. Apparently he was collaborating with his girlfriend, who is my life long best friend, Kelly Woodruff as well as other family members who only told of the woman’s story through writing. When Tanner wanted to making this story into a visual medium, lots of people jumped on board. I, of course, was one of them. I had heard stories told by Kelly about how incredibly zany this woman was. The time she was drunk on thanksgiving and started rapping on the table. Another time when she got drunk and started calling herself the mob boss. It was hard to imagine that she had gone through something like this and still managed to come out on the other side as a woman who would rather enjoy life rather than dwell in the past. I know this is how people should be when it comes to going through hard times, but sometimes we can’t help but be haunted by the things that brought us down to that dank, dark pit. There are times where I let myself become bullied by Mr. Regret, Mr. Lazy, and Mr. Lonely. But this is something that I am trying to fight off so I can enjoy life just like this woman. A Dutch-Indonesian grandmother (referred to as Oma) who was dropped into a Japanese Concentration Camp during World War II. Watching people, including loved ones, get killed while they tried to get food, and worked shoveling bodies into graves at such a young age. I know this might be like a topic that has been done before, but I strongly recommend you check it out anyways. From what I have seen so far, this documentary is tackling the topic from a different angle. I myself have started a series of behind the scenes vlogs (what I like to call vlogumentaries) and will be posting them up on my YouTube. I’ll probably share them on this site, but in the meantime, you guys and support the Oma and Us Facebook Page. Right now, Tanner and Kelly and focusing on getting the finished product into festivals. So go show them some much deserved love.
Nicole Rousseau 