#49 Iain Cunningham: My Mother’s Ghost

Documentary filmmaker and father Iain Cunningham knows all about the myths we like to tell ourselves about family. But he knows just as much about the details our parents sometimes leave out, and the impact those family secrets can have on children who never learn the truth. Cunningham’s mother Irene passed away when he was just three years old, and his family rarely spoke or shared memories of her for decades, leaving Iain to wonder what kind of person his mother was, and what exactly led to her death.

On this episode of Paternal, Cunningham discusses why his father kept the details of Irene’s life and death a secret, and why becoming a father himself helped inspire him to trace his mother’s footsteps through the English town where he grew up. He filmed the entire experience and eventually released the documentary Irene’s Ghost, a celebrated love letter to his mother and a touching examination of the complicated relationship between father and son.

Learn more about Irene’s Ghost, rent or buy it on Itunes, or watch it on Amazon Prime.