After more than forty years in a relationship, the filmmaker’s mother, a Cape Verdean woman in her sixties, finds herself alone for the first time. As she enters this new phase of her life, her son tries to help her rebuild her life, while also learning more about his parents’ relationship. He films her as she sorts out the home where she now lives alone, asks her questions about her many half-siblings, and directs some of her actions.
Old photographs and his father’s belongings prompt stories about the dynamics of the marriage, Cape Verdean attitudes to relationships—having multiple partners was considered perfectly acceptable for men—what it’s like to live in Portugal as a Cape Verdean, and the filmmaker’s relationship with his parents. Unlike his mother, he has loving memories of his father.
With sensitivity and at times painful honesty, the film lays bare the complex relationships and circumstances of the past, creating space for new understanding and growth.
Stills
