“Nothing about that day seems real,” filmmaker Chico Colvard said as he introduced audiences to his family –who serve as the subject of his documentary aptly titled Family Affair.
Of the more than 70 films (more than 15 feature reflections of the African American perspective) included in the 19th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival– few will leave the lasting impression Colvard’s first person documentary.
The day in 1978 that Colvard spoke of was like any other in the family home as 10 year-old Chico mimicked the act of his favorite television western hero.
In a freak accident while playing with his father’s rifle, he accidently shot his older sister in the leg. The tragic incident triggered the explosion of revelations regarding the unspeakable family secrets that crumbled the facade of the Colvard household.
The inspiration for his debut film was derived from what Colvard described on screen as an act of cowardice. He failed miserably when presented with the opportunity to face the in-house demons – well one in particular – that ripped his family to shreds so many years before.
But the inciting incident that led him to capture his family dynamic and hold his father accountable for the activities that led to his family being separated – which symbolized the end of his childhood – was the ultimate act of courage.
The film was praised at Sundance, and in January Oprah Winfrey acquired the film’s rights for her soon-to-be-launched Oprah Winfrey Network.
Family Affair started out as a means to get to the bottom of the sick secrets that have haunted and destroyed Colvard’s family after being exposed 30 years before. But Colvard journeys towards developing an understanding of the cruelty he was shielded from – and oblivious to – and the dysfunction that subsequently occurred as the victims worked endlessly to appease and gain approval from the man who terrorized them for years.
When they are introduced in Family Affair, his sisters have somehow managed to find themselves running back into the arms of their abuser.
Family Affair is a surreal cinematic experience – the type that lingers and randomly imposes itself on one’s daily thoughts without warning.
Sensitive subject matter (though far more common than many assume) is as fascinating as it is uncomfortable to process – only trumped by the manner in which his sisters spoke with such candor about their lives under the thumb (and fist) of their father.
The girls seemed detached from their entire childhood experience. It is Colvard that seems to bear most of the exposed scarring from the remnants of his tragic family experience.
He rarely addressed the guilt that haunts him as the triggerman of the catalyst for what would be the end of his taste of a traditional family – but he implies so throughout Family Affair.
In the years that followed and he struggled coming to grips with his past and carries the baggage into adulthood, Colvard has estranged himself.
But as he comes to a crossroads between confrontation versus understanding and healing, he looks to his sisters – the victims – and it is through them that he finds a source of strength to continue with the process.
Every aspect of their lives have been impacted because of their father’s choices – including the relationship they have with their mother. Yet, somehow they seem to survive and press through physical, mental and emotional damage stemming from their early lives.
According to Colvard, it was them that compelled him to continue.
“I knew that, no matter what, the answer didn’t matter as much as me asking the question,” Colvard said.
Family Affair will screen as a part of the 19th Annual Stella Artois St. Louis International Film Festival at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19, at the Tivoli (Delmar in the loop).
For a full schedule and more details about the films and activities surrounding Cinema St. Louis’ 19th Annual Stella Artois St. Louis International Film Festival, visit www.cinemastlouis.org/festival or call 314-289-4150.
