By Carole Horst
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Leanne Sullivan With TIFF premiere “Ancestors,” Irish filmmaker David Turpin creates a story about the simple acts of human connection, love and how our dreams and fantasies can boost our spirits when everything else fails.
Set in the late 1980s in London, when the HIV-AIDS crisis was killing off generations of primarily gay men, “Ancestors” asks the audience to remember.
The character-driven narrative focuses on Beau (Éanna Hardwicke), an Irish immigrant looking for community in London, and a place to be himself, freely. He lives with best friend Michelle (Jessica Reynolds), works in the cafe run by aging “auntie” to the young gay men in the neighborhood Maurice (Ruper Everett). Maurice also makes sure the youngsters understand the importance of the movie stars he loves — their pictures are all over the walls of the cafe and his house. Christina Hendricks plays one of those stars, in a role that is as much metaphor as it is real.
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