Memories of a Penitent Heart

Documentary Competition

World Premiere

USA, Puerto Rico | 74 MINUTES | English, Spanish | English subtitles

MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART

Female Director(s), Documentary, Latino Director(s)
Twenty five years after Miguel died from AIDS, his niece, filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo, embarks on an excavation into a quagmire of unresolved family drama. Like many gay men in the 1980s, Miguel moved from Puerto Rico to New York City; he found a career in theater and a rewarding relationship. Yet, on his deathbed he grappled to reconcile his homosexuality with his Catholic upbringing. Now, decades after his death, Cecilia locates Miguel’s lover Robert, who has been shunned and demonized by the family, in order to understand the whole story. Braiding recently discovered home movies, interviews, and contemporary vérité footage, Memories of a Penitent Heart dissects a family secret while exploring the AIDS crisis and the rarely heard story of Latino artists who died in the early days of the epidemic. This is a moving story about mistakes of the past and second chances that also questions how faith is used in times of crisis.

—Dan Hunt

Co-Hosted By:


CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Cecilia Aldarondo

Cecilia Aldarondo is one of FILMMAKER Magazine's ‘25 New Faces of Independent Film’ of 2015. Her directorial debut Memories of a Penitent Heart received support from the MacDowell Colony, Sundance Institute, IFP, Jerome Foundation, Firelight Media and NYSCA among others. She is Assistant Professor of Film at Skidmore College.
Director
Cecilia Aldarondo
Producer
Cecilia Aldarondo, Patricia Benabe
Editor
Hannah Buck
Cinematographer
Brennan Vance
Executive Producer
Esther Robinson
Composer
Angélica Negrón

CONTACTS

US Sales Contact
Cecilia Aldarondo
Blackscrackle Films
Stillwater, NY 12118
Phone: 917 375 0081
cecilia@penitentheart.com
Print Source
Cecilia Aldarondo
Blackscrackle Films
Stillwater, NY 12118
Phone: 917 375 0081
cecilia@penitentheart.com
International Sales Contact
Cecilia Aldarondo
Blackscrackle Films
Stillwater, NY 12118
Phone: 917 375 0081
cecilia@penitentheart.com
Press Contact
David Magdael
David Magdael & Associates
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Phone: 213 624 7827
dmagdael@dmagpr.com
Press Contact
Francisco Sanchez
David Magdael & Associates
LOS ANGELES, CA 90015
Phone: 213 624 7827
FSANCHEZ@TCDM-ASSOCIATES.COM
Press Contact
Jack Song
David Magdael & Associates
LOS ANGELES, CA 90015
Phone: 213 624 7827
JSONG@TCDM-ASSOCIATES.COM