Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old REESE lives with her father, LEN; pregnant stepmother, SHANA; and six-year-old half-brother, TY. Withdrawn and isolated, Reese dreams of running away to live with her biological mother. When Shana goes into labor, Reese is left to babysit Ty but neglects him instead. Meanwhile, Ty, who is obsessed with turtles, escapes into a fantasy world where Reese becomes a tortoise and he becomes a sea turtle. 

Sea Turtles explores the rippling effects of America’s maternal mortality crisis through children’s eyes. Inspired by magical realism films like Beasts of the Southern Wild, We the Animals, and Where the Wild Things Are, this coming-of-age short is grounded in reality but includes many fantastical elements, like human-sized turtles and sandy beaches that suddenly appear in the living room.