A mother, a son, and a survivor's heart: A story that waited over 30 years to be told

PHILADELPHIA — The man looks straight at the camera. There is no music, no props. Just him, his eyes, and his voice.

"It's December 1991, and today I told my mother I was diagnosed with HIV," he says. "Perhaps," he continues, "I shouldn't have."

This is a story that took over 30 years for actor and filmmaker Lary Campbell, now 68, to tell. That he lived to tell it is no small thing. All of this could have been lost to silence.

But next week, it will be heard.

"My Mother, My Self" will be shown at the Nice International Film Festival which is being held Nice, France, from May 13-15. The film and Campbell are nominated in five categories: best short film, best original screenplay, best actor, best director and best editing.

It is a quiet but powerful film about the relationship between a mother and son, as well as the legacy of trauma. Lurking in shadows are the early years of the AIDS epidemic, a time when fragile people were left to cope and often die alone by their families and society.

Campbell, who now lives in Magnolia, New Jersey, grew up in North Philadelphia. His father, James, died when he was 10, and his mother, Elizabeth, struggled to raise five children on survivors' benefits.

"We grew up on powdered milk because we couldn't afford milk," Campbell said. "My sister remembers neighbors leaving canned goods on our porch."

Campbell said his mother "didn't show her emotions. It was rough for her. Absolutely, But back then, you didn't go to therapy." Although she was a Catholic, she wouldn't even go to confession, Campbell said. "She was not going to discuss feelings. She was not going to discuss personal stuff."

She had reasons to keep up her emotional guard, Campbell said. She brought her mother down when she tried to kill herself by hanging. Campbell's mother confided in one of his siblings, but never discussed it with him.

...continued

swipe to next page