Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, July 31:
MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART
Director:
Cecilia Aldarondo
Premiere:
Tribeca 2016
Select Festivals:
New Orleans, Florida, QDoc, Inside/Out, Guanajuato, Hot Springs Doc, Indie Memphis, Sydney Mardi Gras, BFI Flare, One World, Cleveland
About:
An investigation into the buried secrets around the life and death of the filmmaker’s uncle.
Aldarondo’s Uncle Miguel died long ago, in the 1980s, part of the lost generation of gay men claimed by AIDS. Having moved from Puerto Rico to NYC to pursue dreams of a career in theatre, he embraced a newfound sexual freedom and had a serious relationship with a man named Robert – much to the disapproval of his very religious family. When he is stricken down by disease, his mother Carmen pressures him to renounce his sexuality and beg forgiveness, clearing the way for the family amnesia that follows about Miguel’s life and death and the utter removal of Robert from his narrative. More than two decades later, Aldarondo forces the closet door open in hopes of learning more about her long gone uncle, both from her family, and, perhaps more importantly, from Robert, who has transformed his life in unexpected ways. What emerges is a compelling and affecting personal exploration of selective memory, as well as a broader reminder of the competing histories written at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
