USA,
1995, 55 min
Shown in 1996
CREDITS
- dir
-
Nicole Betancourt
- prod
-
Nicole Betancourt, Susan Lazarus
- cam
-
Nicole Betancourt
- editor
-
Nanette Burstein, Zelda Greenstein
- gga award
-
Golden Spire, Film & Video: The Family
-
COMMENTS
Shown with Breathing Lessons. Nicole Betancourt in person.
OTHER
In 1993, Jeffrey Betancourt died of AIDS. His daughter Nicole’s video diary about him, however, takes on much more. Mixing home movies she took as a child with more recent video footage, Betancourt explores her relationship with her father and chronicles the devastating effects of his illness on one family. Her dad was a charismatic cipher, perhaps because he was gay. Betancourt uses the camera to learn more about him while there’s still time. Like cinema verité filmed by an insider, she compassionately probes her parents’ failed marriage, the dynamics of her extended family and her father’s ravaging illness with a clear, yet deeply invested eye. As death approaches, her father is finally willing to discuss his gayness with unprecedented honesty. Betancourt’s unique perspective lifts this documentary and makes it a remarkable testament to personal strength.
—Glen Helfand
FACTOID #125
According to the November 29, 1959 San Diego Union, The Village on the River was the first Dutch feature ever shown in the U.S. (at the Third San Francisco International Film Festival).
