Flophouse America

Mikal (12) was born and raised in a run-down hotel room that he shares with his parents, both struggling with addiction. Mikal’s greatest wish is for his mother and father to stop drinking. But what does it really take for someone to change?

Due to the ongoing housing crisis in the United States, many people are forced to live in rundown hotels, also known as flophouses. Mikal shares a small, cheap room in one of these hotels with his parents, Jason and Tonya, and their cat, Smokey. Their home is marked by chaos and alcohol abuse, but also by love and the hope for a better future.

Photographer Monica Strømdahl 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 such conditions. In this coming-of-age documentary, she follows him for three years and captures both the pain of a broken childhood and the warmth and complexity of family.