Death of a Saint

Filmmaker Patricia Bbaale Bandak gives birth to her daughter Imelda on Christmas Eve, the same day her mother—and baby’s namesake—was killed 24 years earlier by two gunmen in their home in Uganda. Yearning to know her mother and raising the questions no one in the family has ever dared ask, Bandak returns to her birthplace to confront and reclaim what was stolen from her. Can we ever really discover the truth and piece the past together again? How do we make up for the loss of a mother and a motherland? Death of a Saint combines an artful personal story of motherhood and a suspenseful true-crime investigation to focus on family and forgiveness, rather than revenge and punishment, in refreshingly new ways. The use of various cameras and film formats bends and turns back time, creating space where memories can be replaced with images, both archival and fantastical.