I AM I is written and directed by Jocelyn Towne and is “story of a young woman, Rachael (Towne), who meets her estranged father Gene (Kevin Tighe) at her mother’s funeral. Eager to get to know her father, Rachael later tracks him down at an assisted living home only to realize that he suffers from memory loss and thinks he is still a young man. He has no recollection of having a daughter and instead is convinced that Rachael is actually her mother.” When Rachael is unable to make her father remember her, she resorts to going along with her father’s delusions and pretends to be her mother so she can get to know her father.
This clip, titled “Vintage Clothes,” manages to be both funny and heartbreaking. While Rachael is sorting through her parents’ old clothes, she’s reminded of lies she used to tell her peers about her father. It was clearly a coping mechanism, and one that she is visibly pained to remember. Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) is also featured in the clip.
Towne raised funds for I AM I through Kickstarter, and the film premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2013, where Towne won “Outstanding Achievement in Directing.” The film is now available on Vimeo on Demand, and will open in theatres on June 13.