Ben Callner’s baby blues in black and white

This gorgeous short film by Ben Callner is a candid look at the humour, pain, anxiety and ultimate wonder of the early days of parenting. 

Titled Apartment 9, it depicts in elegant monochrome the complex, confused emotions of a new father home alone with a demanding newborn. 

There is the trauma that Callner’s wife Elicia endured during Lily’s complicated birth and the familiar astonishment-tinged-with-shame that the treasured new arrival can bring, due to its ceaseless, sleep-denying whims and requirements. 

The aim of the film is to help prospective fathers get ready for what’s to come and to show new parents everywhere that they’re not alone in their occasional bewilderment, exhaustion… and joy.

Set to the timeless tune Smile, recorded by Nat King Cole, it beautifully conveys how while ones progeny can shred a parent’s every nerve and push them to the brink of reason, a simple cheeky grin can melt the heart and make it all worthwhile.