In the haunting narrative 'Lineage,' Michelle West uncovers family secrets.

      Not long ago, Michelle West requested her Aunt Carol to share some family stories. What her aunt recounted served as the foundation for West’s intriguing new short film “Lineage,” which portrays a harsher depiction of 1933 than is typically represented on screen, and demonstrates the lengths to which people, particularly women, must go to conceal their secrets in order to survive.

      The short film, which recently screened at the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, cultivates an atmosphere of mystery and strength as viewers come to recognize the characters’ ability to compartmentalize: Secrets are stored away in a trunk, meant to remain undisclosed. West, who penned and directed the film, also portrays a mother battling to maintain her family’s unity during the bleakest periods of the Great Depression.

      Allusions to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (the book, not the film, which had yet to be released) contribute to the unsettling earthiness that envelops the short. “Lineage,” akin to L. Frank Baum’s novel, possesses a curious mixture of sadness and hope that lingers. By the conclusion, it reveals itself to be a completely different film than one might have anticipated at the outset.

      We spoke with West about the silencing of filmmakers in the 1930s, gaining experience across various film roles, and accurately depicting the past.

      Michelle West on Creating ‘Lineage’

      Writer-director-actor Michelle West collaborates with her lead actress, Cailin Peluso, on “Lineage.” Hazel Mae Pictures

      MovieMaker: Can you share the events that inspired this?

      Michelle West: About six years ago at a family reunion, I asked my Aunt Carol to recount family stories while the rest of the family went sightseeing. My family is rather scattered, and I had little knowledge of our family history. She happily obliged, and while knitting, she shared how my grandparents met, their occupations, and the tough home lives that led them to become teenage newlyweds determined to face the world together.

      Aunt Carol also revealed something Nana only disclosed closer to her passing — that as a young girl, Nana discovered a fetus in a trunk in the living room. The rumors suggested that Nana’s mother was superstitious and resorted to black magic to ensure she had a boy... A typical patriarchal narrative: Women are deemed insane, and only male children hold value.

      As Aunt Carol continued to share more familial accounts involving abortions, miscarriages, alcoholism, poverty, gang ties, gambling, and infidelity, I began to connect the dots. The fetus in the trunk symbolized not blessings but rather buried secrets — secrets too painful to completely relinquish, which the women in my family were compelled to carry in silence for generations. Thus, I chose to break that cycle.

      Ultimately, Lineage interweaves true events into a cohesive fictional story to pay tribute to the forgotten women within not just my family but all families.

      MovieMaker: Since many films from the Hays Code era were censored, we often receive a sanitized view of history, particularly of the 1930s. Do you believe your portrayal delivers a more authentic reflection of life during the Depression than the films of that time?

      Michelle West: The influential figures of the 1930s who censored and tailored media towards Christian morals post-industry consolidation (sound familiar?) not only sanitized content but also effectively stifled women’s filmmaking for decades. Pioneers of cinema like Alice Guy Blaché, Lois Weber, and Mae West were profitable until a male studio head deemed their work inappropriate and ended their careers.

      Consequently, we have missed countless essential narratives created by and about women.

      Regrettably, this issue is not isolated to the Hays Code era. Currently, only 8% of feature-length films are directed by women. The 2022 documentary Brainwashed: Sex, Camera, Power by Nina Menkes meticulously illustrates how even contemporary films portray women and their experiences, impacting pay disparity and misogyny in today’s culture.

      Michelle West on the “Lineage” set. Hazel Mae Pictures

      Much work remains to ensure that stories encompassing all races, genders, and identities are told in the present, irrespective of the historical context they depict. I don’t want to wait 90 years for today’s stories to be told truthfully.

      MovieMaker: Many elements of your film feel incredibly relevant to 2026 — the male gambling crisis, predatory behavior, and limitations on bodily autonomy. Did you intend for this to be an allegory for today, to reclaim a story from the 1930s, or to create something timeless?

      Michelle West: Reflecting on how far we’ve come in the last century concerning equality, technology, and awareness — all under the idea of enhancing life and happiness — is indeed remarkable. Yet, we seem to struggle with confronting our demons, which leads to history repeating itself.

      Fortunately, art serves as a powerful reflection. The goal of films