To be granted parole, an incarcerated woman needs to secure the support of her daughter after nearly 20 years of separation. When the two 'meet' through an online prison program, memory explodes, turning the path they must navigate into a minefield of loss and old wounds.
Peg Rives, serving almost 20 years for drug-related crimes, awaits final determination from a parole board about an early release. But the board wants to see evidence of support on the outside. Who can Peg call on? Her friends are dead or imprisoned. She lost touch with her daughter, Dorian in the chaos of serial foster placements. Now, as a parole hearing looms, Peg reaches out to Dorian through a family reconciliation program. It begins online. But when Peg logs on for the first meeting, Dorian refuses to turn on her camera or mic, only texting in “chat” to communicate. Peg submits to this odd arrangement. It’s a start. But as they connect, memory intrudes. The meeting blows up when Peg asks Dorian to write a letter supporting her release. They both retreat to their separate worlds. Dorian, shaken by this encounter, unravels. Never a warm mother, she detaches even more from her children. At work, she is suspended when she lashes out at her students. Finally, when her husband leaves with their children, she heads to the prison to have it out with Peg, who's responsible for this mess. In the meeting, they pound each other with conflicting versions of the past. But, bit by bit, they begin to see each other. They agree to continue this bold experiment: not to chase some simplified version of forgiveness but rather to find a life that can absorb the fullness of what's happened in an uncharted way.
Mirra Bank is a veteran director whose work has international reach. She is a member of the Academy (Doc Branch), and directed the Oscar-shortlisted feature documentary, Last Dance, with Pilobolus and Maurice Sendak. Her filmmaking began with editorial contributions to Woodstock (Academy Award), Gimme Shelter, and Harlan County, USA (Academy Award). Her directorial debut, Yudie, premiered at the NY Film Festival, aired nationally on PBS, and is currently available on Criterion. In films like Enormous Changes (Sundance, BFI London) and Nobody’s Girls (PBS), Bank focuses on the experiences of women and underrepresented communities. She shot her human rights-baseball feature documentary, The Only Real Game, over 5 years in strife-torn Manipur, India. The film was a Netflix premiere and winner of the “American Spirit Award” at Sedona International Film Festival. Bank filmed her latest feature doc, No Fear No Favor, in wilderness areas on the front lines of Africa’s poaching crisis. The documentary won both the Hamptons DocFest “Filmmakers’ Choice Award” and “Environmental Award,” followed by others, including “Outstanding Cinematography” and "DOXX Award Finalist" for the best documentary directed by a woman, at TallGrass Film Festival. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Bronx Documentary Center; is an Adjunct of the Investigative Reporting Program at Berkeley; and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.
London International Festival of Screenwriting 2022 - First Prize in Screenwriting
Big Apple Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
Mystic Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
Women Deliver Arts and Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
Bread and Roses Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
Director - Mirra Bank
Writer - Kathryn Grant
Producer - Mulberry Queens Films
