Aside from the intimate lens and stunning cinematography, the most striking part of the autobiographical documentary “Beva” is the moment of its vulnerability, which includes the intense debate between the mother and her whites, of African Latino. A friend who pushes the viewer into the family and personal trauma of the filmmaker.
Written, directed and produced by Rebeca Huntt, the film follows the migration of her family to New York City after spending time in the north of Bard College and returning to their parents’ home in Central Park West.
Hunt’s childhood nickname, “Beva,” is not a story of immigrant redemption. Through poetry, narration (featuring the voices of writers such as James Baldwin and Audre Lorde), and interviews with family and friends, Hunt, the daughter of a black Dominican father and Venezuelan mother, is a daughter of family and social history. Joins and extracts painful parts of her own identity from the wreckage of her trauma. “Each of us inherits the curse of our ancestors,” Hunt said. The focus is on the hostile relationship with her mother and the tension that unfolds inside and outside the camera. Hunt also investigates relationships with white friends amid heightened racial and political tensions.
What is unexplored is the dynamics with and between men in the family. Interview Hunt’s father, who looks like his ideal, but avoids difficult questions. He feels unhooked, probably because the relationship between Hunt and his mother occupies so much space. Hunt’s brother occupies most of the narration story, but the two are estranged and it’s clear that he isn’t in the movie. Still, “Beva” is profound. The filmmaker delves into all who she is, including the darker or more destructive aspects of her identity, urging viewers to see the complexity of the hunt, and perhaps their own. increase.
Beba
The language rating is R. Execution time: 1 hour 19 minutes. At the theater.
