Love and Diane (2003)

Synopsis: "Love & Diane" tells the epic story of a family over three generations. At its heart lies the highly charged relationship between a mother and daughter, desperate for love and forgiveness but struggling against implacable odds. For Love the world changed forever when she and her siblings... "Love & Diane" tells the epic story of a family over three generations. At its heart lies the highly charged relationship between a mother and daughter, desperate for love and forgiveness but struggling against implacable odds. For Love the world changed forever when she and her siblings were torn from their drug-addicted mother, Diane, and thrust into a terrifying world of institutions and foster homes. Ten years have passed since that day. Love and her five siblings have been reunited with Diane again. But they are almost strangers to each other; all have been scarred by the years of separation. Now Love is 18 and HIV+. And she has just given birth to a son, Donyaeh. Consumed by guilt, Diane throws all her faith and will into rebuilding the family that her own drug addiction destroyed, as Love struggles to contain her overwhelming anger about the past. But when Diane confides her fears for her daughter to a therapist, suddenly the police are at the door. Donyaeh is taken from Love. To the family it is as if history has repeated itself. While the film takes us deep into the life of a single family, it also offers an unblinking look at the Byzantine "system" that aims to help but as often frustrates the family's attempts to improve their situation. "Love & Diane" tells the story of a mother struggling to bring her son home and of a family fighting for a chance at long-deferred dreams.

This film is a presentation of the Independent Television Service (ITVS) with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). -- © Women Make Movies [More]