Recovering Irma

story

Recovering Irma will be a feature-length film that deftly weaves together a triangle of stories and cinematic styles: a portrait of a Mexican-American family's love and loss in the wake of their father's murderous abuse; a journey to recover lost memories of - and honor - a mother who was never a victim despite being victimized; and the filmmaker's courageous effort to stop her nephew from following in his grandfather's violent footsteps.

Be the buffalo. Sandra Salas first heard this famous Cherokee life lesson from her oldest brother just a year before her mother's murder. On a bicycle trip from Portland, Oregon to Washington, D.C., he told her to pay attention to the buffalo she'd encounter along the route. "When there's a storm, cows and other animals run away from it," he said. "The buffalo charges directly toward the storm and gets through it quicker."

"When my mother was murdered, I was overcome by grief," recalls Sandra. "I used dubious ways to deal with the pain, thinking I could outrun it. When I finally hit rock bottom I realized the importance of our family's vow. I want to help fulfill that vow. I want to do it, and because of Lorenzo, I have to do it now."

30-year-old Lorenzo Porras is Sandra's nephew and skateboarding buddy. In the Bay Area, where Sandra lives, the camera follows them as they glide along the roads and avenues of Berkeley and San Francisco - the activity providing a brief respite for their collective shame. For Sandra, because she was powerless to do anything about her mother's death; for Lorenzo, because he feels helpless over the forces of violence he learned growing up. "When we get on our skateboards, nothing else exists. That time belongs to us. We are on common ground, and we are happy." But they know they can't stay on their boards forever.

"Lorenzo and I have to be the buffalo. We have to charge directly towards this family disease that haunts our daily lives," says Sandra.