At My Mother's Breast

Filmmaker Heather Watson-Burgess' mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all had breast cancer, and two of her aunts have been diagnosed. Knowing she might be next, Watson-Burgess decided to explore her fear and grief with the other women in her extended family, and the result is a powerful portrait of mother-daughter relationships captured through intimate interviews, photographs, family get-togethers, and the director's own video diary. At one point, one of the aunts says, with reference to their ever-present collective fear of breast cancer, “In this family, we have three choices: you can laugh, you can cry, or you can talk it to death.” Early on, Watson-Burgess establishes herself through voiceover and her video diary as a bright, honest, self-assured young woman who doesn't see herself as the type to ask everyone to talk about their feelings; the fact that she's compelled to, despite herself, makes this journey all the more revealing. She interviews her mother and aunts collectively, who discuss the impact of breast cancer on their lives, and then interviews their daughters—her cousins—about the possibility of losing their mothers to cancer, whether they've considered having their breasts removed, and—in the case of a cousin whose mother is dying—the specific details of caring for her mom. Throughout, the viewer witnesses the transformative effect that the filmmaking experience has on the director's relationship with her own mother, who is an activist with the Guardian Angels support group for breast cancer survivors. A revealing portrait of mothers and daughter and the devastating generational legacy of breast cancer, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (A. Cantú)