ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
Westchester, Summer 1991. Closeted teenager Daniel Rosen begins to come out to himself when his estranged gay uncle Ira returns home, dying of complications from HIV/AIDS.

SYNOPSIS
In the summer of 1991 when writer and co-director Gary Jaffe was three, his uncle Barry died of complications from HIV/AIDS. For the rest of his childhood and adolescence, the specter of his dead, gay uncle haunted him, particularly as he struggled to come to terms with his own sexuality. Gary now finds himself mourning the opportunity that could have been.

Imagining the possibility of a queer family member — someone to look up to as a mentor and as a friend. OUR LAST SUMMER, therefore, is a fantasy imagining if Gary had been sixteen at the time of Barry’s passing. Set in that same year, 1991, in Westchester, NY, IRA tells the story of when openly gay Ira Franks (40), dying from complications due to HIV/AIDS, moves from Manhattan to his childhood home to live out his remaining weeks under the care of his disapproving mother Madge Franks (68), his pragmatic sister Rachel Rosen (44), and his closeted nephew Daniel Rosen (16).

Daniel and Ira used to be close, but after an incident at Daniel’s Bar Mitzvah, Daniel has since distanced himself from Ira. Daniel now attempts normalcy by being romantic with his best friend Phoebe Alessi (16). When the two teenagers start to spend time with their formerly close friend Jeremiah Reilly (16), Daniel and Jeremiah begin a hesitant courtship.

Meanwhile, as Ira’s condition worsens, Daniel and Ira start to mend their relationship. Faced with the reality of Ira’s imminent death, Daniel knows he must make peace with both his uncle and his own identity before it’s too late.

In bringing Daniel and Ira to the screen, Gary creates the relationship with his uncle they never had. He still has to lose him in the end, but not before sharing a brief moment of their lives together.

PROJECT TYPE Narrative Feature

DIRECTOR Gary Jaffe, Katie Ennis
SCREENWRITER Gary Jaffe
PRODUCER Emily McCann Lesser, Gary Jaffe, Katie Ennis