The Double Life of Ernesto Gomez Gomez

By Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg
Premiered: July 27, 1999

What happens to the parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters of those willing to sacrifice everything for their beliefs? Breaking ground stylistically, this film uniquely blends forms to tell the singular story of a son of Puerto Rican revolutionaries — his mother in prison, his father in exile — sent as a baby to Mexico to be raised in safety and anonymity. As a teenager Ernesto/Guillermo learns of his past and collaborates with filmmakers Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg to magically chronicle his turbulent journey of self-discovery, offering a striking account of the costs of fiercely held convictions and the binding force of a son's love. (56 minutes)

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Transcript:

Gary Weimberg, filmmaker: This is a story about a teenage boy and the loves and the pains that he goes through to get to know his mom. And in the process of telling that story, it becomes a history of Puerto Rico, a history of imperialism, a history of colonialism -- a history of things that most teenagers run screaming from high school rather than study. This is a teenager who had to study those things in order to understand his own life and his own mother.

Catherine Ryan, filmmaker: Those questions about parents are things that every teenager struggles with. And teenagers try to express themselves and are often misunderstood. And I think what this film does is validates the fact that teenagers have a lot to say and that they should express themselves, and that the rest of us can learn from them. And I think that that's where his personal story goes way beyond and really does talk to other teenagers.

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