MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART

Every family has a hidden history. The question often is, should it stay that way? In the late 1980s, Cecilia’s Uncle Miguel died of AIDS in New York. Miguel was a promising young playwright who fled to New York to escape his extremely religious mother Carmen. Cecilia decided to tie the loose ends surrounding Miguel’s death, including locating Miguel’s lover Robert, who was reviled by Carmen as the cause of her son’s death. When she locates Robert and begins digging into family archives and interviewing surviving family members, Cecilia discovers more than she expected. She stirs a pot of conflicting viewpoints, shocking family secrets, religious mania, “miracles,” and the lingering question of what might actually be gained from all this. When everyone has crafted their own histories, what effect does the truth really have? This fearless film poses questions to which there may be no real answers. Powerful and passionate, MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART is a poetic family history that raises more than ghosts and dust. (In English and Spanish with subtitles) —C.R.