Directed by Patricia Bbaale Bandak, her personal documentary Death of a Saint will make its International Premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Canadian Documentary Film Festival in Toronto on Tuesday April 30.

On Christmas Eve 1989 when Patricia was only two years old, her mother was murdered by two gunmen in their home in Uganda. Now, thirty years after the killing Patricia is finally ready to return home and take a look at her traumatic past.

Death of a Saint produced by Victor Cunha, Monolit Films and supported by New Danish Screen/Danish Institute of Film.

On Christmas Eve 1989, when film director Patricia was only two years old, her mother was killed by two gunmen in their home in Uganda. On Christmas Eve 2013, Patricia gave birth to a daughter whom she named Imelda after her mother. Now, more than 30 years after the killing, and after becoming a mother herself, Patricia is finally ready to return to her native country and look into her past.

Throughout the film, Patricia attempts to find out who her mother was. However, cultural differences and the shadow of a brutal murder constantly loom s over her journey. Her mother is described as a saint, but Patricia wants to understand who she really was as a person. Patricia must confront her traumas in order to set herself free from them.

“My mother’s brutal murder has affected my entire life. By talking to murderers and witnesses, I will get to know my mother through her death. Ultimately it will set myself and my daughter free; past, present, future combined.” – director Patricia Bbaale Bandak

Watch the first trailer for Death of a Saint

Screenings at Hot Docs:

April 30, 2:30pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 3
May 2, 12:45pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 1