Flophouse America EN

Due to the ongoing housing crisis in the United States, many families are forced to live in dilapidated hotels, also known as flophouses. Twelve-year-old Mikal is one of them. He grows up in a small, cheap room with his alcoholic parents and their cat, Smokey. Their lives are chaotic and uncertain, but also filled with love and the hope of a better future.

Photographer and filmmaker Monica Strømdahl traveled for years across the US, documenting life in these hotels. Eight years ago, she met Mikal and followed him for three years with remarkable tenderness and closeness. His greatest wish? For his parents to finally stop drinking. She shows both the vulnerability of a broken childhood and the warmth and complexity of family ties. Strømdahl waited to release the film until Mikal was of legal age and could give his own consent.

This coming-of-age documentary is moving and compelling, without ever judging. Through Mikal’s eyes, we see how a child copes under difficult circumstances and gain a unique perspective on a social crisis that often remains hidden from view.