Everyday

Michael Winterbottom tells the story of four children separated from their father and a wife separated from her husband. The father Ian is in prison. The mother Karen has to bring up a family of five by herself. Filmed over a period of five years, EVERYDAY employs the repetitions and rhythms of everyday life to explore how a family can survive a prolonged period apart. It is in part a response to the usual way cinema portrays the passage of time. The film unfolds in a series of visits: first the family visiting the father in prison, later the father visiting the family at home. With each visit the distance between the children and their father becomes harder to bridge. By avoiding standard cinema conventions of time passing, the film focuses on the small subtle changes as people grow up and grow old whilst being apart. It is a story of survival and love, a celebration of the small pleasures of everyday life.