S1.E4 ∙ Defend

What does it mean to be oneself? What is a price to be paid for achieving such a state?

Blurring borders between documentary and fiction, this film portrays a few moments from the lives of three men from Belo Horizonte: a transsexual prostitute and academic, a Hare Krishna soccer fan and a would-be writer.

When an 18-year-old adoptee from the U.S. returns to China to live with her birth family for a summer, this is no mere summer vacation, but a quest to find history, meaning and identity. Determined to piece together the fragments of her mysterious past, Ricki embarks on a journey to understand the past so she can know who she is now, unraveling complex relationships and events against the backdrop of culture, politics, gender and ethics.

This is the story of Val and Clare: a mother and a daughter. After the tragic death of her eldest daughter, Val left her kids and family behind and escaped into the Colombian jungle in order to search for her identity. Clare was only 11 years old when her mother left and couldn't understand what she was looking for. A son who became an addict, three break-ups and a fractured family remained behind. Now Clare is pregnant and decides to confront her mother, heal the wounds of the past and try to define motherhood on her own terms. Together they go on an intimate journey exploring the boundaries between responsibility and freedom, the power of love and the meaning of family.

A documentary that follows the money behind the rise of the Tea Party.