Due to the ongoing housing crisis in the U.S., many people are forced to live in run-down hotels, known as flophouses. Twelve-year-old Mikal shares a small, inexpensive room in one of these hotels with his parents and their cat, Smokey. Their home is marked by chaos and alcohol abuse, but also by love and the hope for a better future. Director Monica Strømdahl has spent years traveling across the U.S., documenting life in these hotels. Eight years ago, she met
Mikal, one of many children growing up in this environment. This coming-of-age documentary follows him over three years, capturing the pain of a fractured childhood alongside the warmth and complexity of family.

The film received an honorable mention at the CPH:DOX and was presented at the Visions du Réel.