Jason

A painfully frank portrait of 22-year-old Jason as he undergoes trauma therapy. This is the third and final part of Maasja Ooms’ trilogy about the failing Dutch youth welfare services. As in the two previous documentaries Alicia and Rotjochies (Punks), the film is a critical observation from a very personal point of view. Ooms closely follows Jason as he struggles with the psychological effects of a traumatic childhood, which were only intensified when he was taken into juvenile residental care at the age of 16. During intense therapy sessions, it becomes clear how much he has been harmed, and how far-reaching the consequences are when wrong decisions are made in the youth care system. In Ooms’ caring and respectful portrayal, we see Jason not only as a victim, but also as a campaigner who uses his experiences to save others from suffering in the same way. This mission gives him the determination to get better and the strength to show his most vulnerable side, no matter how difficult that might be. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)