It Runs In The Family

When filmmaker Victoria Linares Villegas discovers she is related to Oscar Torres, a little-known Dominican director, she embarks on a cinematic excavation of his role in Caribbean docufiction and leftist movements during the authoritarian 1940s. Through her research, she pieces together a portrait of his creative and political legacy and breaks down the boundaries between his story and her own ambitions as an image-maker. She brings Torres’ work back to life through a series of elaborate restagings of his unproduced screenplays, with members of her family stepping in as actors. Through this process of playful discovery, Victoria poses questions about the Dominican Republic’s political history, transgenerational memory, and queer erasure. A film full of heart, It Runs in the Family is a bold first feature from an exciting voice in nonfiction. (CT)