I Will Follow

Ava DuVernay’s first fiction feature is a delicately observed study of small, unpredictable moments and long unvoiced emotions that suddenly erupt in flurries of grief and recrimination. For over a year, Maye (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) has been living in Topanga Canyon, caring for her adored aunt Amanda, a flamboyant bohemian musician dying of breast cancer. The film takes place over the course of one day, soon after Amanda’s passing, as Maye prepares to move out and a series of visitors arrives to help her sort through Amanda’s possessions. When Amanda’s estranged daughter Fran (Michole White) lays claim to her mother’s mink coat, it leads to a vicious battle over who loved Amanda most. Meanwhile fleeting encounters with strangers provide Maye with unexpected solace. I Will Follow is a film about letting go, and about the surprising thirst for life we experience after the death of someone we loved. –AFI Film Festival