‘Do worms cry?’ – and other questions collected from the mind of a curious child

The Canadian filmmaker Kelly O’Brien is known for her diaristic, poetic short documentaries that reflect on parenting and family. How Does Life Live? (2017) features a collection of questions her young daughter Willow has asked her over the years, ranging from the odd and entertaining (‘Can girls be robots?’) to the abstract and unanswerable (‘Why are some things special?’) to the powerful and poignant (‘Why are we gonna die?’). She pairs these many enquiries with a gentle piano score and images, shot on black-and-white film, of Willow and her older sister Emma playing in and around gravel pit. Elegant in both concept and execution, the resulting short film makes for a stirring tribute to the curiosity of children – born into a world of boundless mysteries, only some of which can ever be adequately addressed, even by the most loving and patient parent.