Because We Have Each Other

An intimate slice of life about a neurodiverse working-class family – at once average, yet exceptional – and each member's unique experience. Because We Have Each Other is foremost a love story of complexity and wonder that is characteristic of blended families, which began with Brent 'Buddha' Barnes and Janet Sharrock’s love-at-first-sight encounter at a local social club.

Central to the family’s universe is the reassuring and adored matriarch, Janet, who feels the weight of providing unconditional love and compassion for her loved ones, pushing her to exhaustion and a yearning for escape. Janet’s daughter Rebecca is one of sixty people in the world with a remarkable yet encumbering memory condition, hyperthymesia, and her sister Jessica is a gifted comedian struggling with depression while trying to assert herself as an independent individual. Buddha’s children from a previous marriage, Brendan, Kylie, and Dylan, strive for their independence while sharing great admiration for their supportive father, a motorcycle spray painting workshop owner who studies daily to manage his dyslexia.

Because We Have Each Other is a collaborative study made over five years by filmmaker Sari Braithwaite, her crew, and the Barnes-Sharrock family. Together they create a portrait of resilience with awareness and social visibility for each family member, demonstrating that amid turmoil and trauma, the familial bonds of love and support are unbreakable.

– Ol Marin