About Face: The Story of Gwendellin Bradshaw (2009)

Sub-Genres - Interpersonal Relationships  |   Run Time - 80 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

Gwendellin Bradshaw was ten months old in 1980 when her parents took her on a camping trip; her mother was struggling with severe post-partum depression and dramatic mood swings, and while her father stepped away from a moment, Gwendellin was tossed into the campfire by her mother. Doctors weren't confident about the child's chances of survival, but Gwendellin lived; however, while she is still dealing with the physical scars left by the incident, the emotional damage proved even harder to heal. Gwendellin spent years refusing to acknowledge the event (despite the physical evidence) and the turmoil brought on by her mother's mental illness; that came to an end in 2004 when Gwendellin tried to kill herself. Diagnosed with mental illness herself, Gwendellin struggled to come to terms with the damage she had suppressed for so long, and in order to fully reconcile her past, Gwendellin decided she needed to find the mother she hadn't seen since she was a baby. Filmmaker Mary Rosanne Katzke followed Gwendellin through her road to emotional and physical recovery, and About Face: The Story of Gwendellin Bradshaw is a documentary that chronicles her fight to reclaim herself. About Face received its world premiere at the 2009 Hot Docs International Film Festival.

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