Every weekend in the Fall and Winter of 2018, I filmed hours upon hours of interviews with my parents in their separate homes, asking them questions about their upbringings with the goal of learning what formed their morals and approaches to caregiving. From our conversations, I learned about a lot of their unresolved childhood traumas and from that I was able to form an understanding and forgiveness for the mistakes made in my and my sister's upbringings.
I promise to make a full film with those 40 hours of interviews at some point in the future, but for now here's the film I made as a result of this process and forgiveness. It didn't happen on purpose, but I realized after finishing my rough draft that I'd brought my family back together after 16 years of separation in this short film. So thats what inspired the title––with heavy emphasis on "My."
This process was intensely painful for them and me both and honestly I don't recommend it unless you've already worked on the bulk of your own childhood trauma in therapy (took me five years before this film was made). But if you feel the strength to dive into it then by all means. And should you decide to film it and share it publicly please feel free to send me the link or where it will be screening!