[2] Taking place in 1986 and 1998 and based on a true story, three poor black kids in rural Mississippi reap the consequences of their family's cycle of abuse, addiction, and violence.

They independently struggle to escape their circumstances and must decide whether to confront what's plagued their family for generations or succumb to the same crippling fate, forever damned in Mississippi.

Writer/director Tina Mabry captures growing up in a world where possibilities and opportunities seem to die in the face of the suffocating reality of physical and sexual abuse, obsession, and a myriad of destructive compulsions.

His pride and previous fame make him reluctant to take the minimum wage job he needs to support his wife and child.

Kari, a talented pianist who has delayed college for years to take care of her cancer-stricken mother, is waiting to hear if she has been accepted by a musical conservatory.

Complex family trees sometimes make for tough narrative sledding, but the thicket of obligations, traumas and betrayals that entrap the 'damned' here are well worth any momentary confusion.

The NewFest audience award-winner demands strong critical support to overcome its downbeat subject matter and lack of a star draw.

"[3] The Philadelphia Inquirer film critic, Steven Rea, lauded the actors, writing, "Kelley (Walt Lloyd in Lost), Jasmin Burke and Jossie Thacker are among the busy ensemble whose exceptionally fine performances elevate what could have been a pile-it-on melodrama into something deeper and more unsettling.