Sweet Forty

Synopsis

Anita's fortieth-birthday celebration brings together people who do not all know the same version of her life. When her daughter discovers that Anita is a lesbian and that her lover is present at the gathering, the party becomes a confrontation with information that has remained private. The occasion's expectation of uncomplicated family happiness makes the revelation particularly charged. The short film follows a woman whose romantic identity cannot remain separate from the role others expect her to perform as a mother. Keeping the evening comfortable may require continuing a concealment that now threatens an important relationship. Anita must consider what she stands to lose through disclosure and what she may already be losing by asking the people she loves to occupy incompatible versions of her world.