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she must mean this or that when she said that. It got to be a whole mess. It was really unfortunate, because she was somebody who lived her life with love, hands down. Allison: That came through in the film, one hundred percent. Brooklyn: That is what she wanted to project. Every single person I talked to for this [film], and I talked to many people from all parts of her life, had nothing but love. Even if they had a complicated relationship with her, they loved my mother deeply and felt deeply loved by her. That was who she was, and the hardest part of that situation was that people would question her integrity in that way. Allison: And you co-directed this film with Roger Ross Williams, who is an Academy Award Winning Director. Was it you who approached him? Brooklyn: I came to the conclusion after a period of time that I wanted to direct this film, but I also hadn’t [directed] before. I had been an actress for many years, but this was my first feature and my first documentary. I had been a fan of Roger’s work. I got a sense that he understood family and he understood emotion, and how to tell that story with a lot of honesty. I knew his work, and I had met one of his long-time producers in the process. She came on board as our producer and connected Roger and me. When we sat down for lunch and discussed whether this was something we could do together, his vision and my vision were the same. He was probably a little reluctant, thinking, “This is the daughter of. Is she going to want to do some kind of sanitized sugarcoated version of her mother.” I didn’t. I really wanted to tell the truth and for that honesty to come through, and he knew how to tell those kinds of stories. Allison: Before your mother met your father (music producer and songwriter, Bruce Sudano), she had been in a relationship where she was the victim of domestic abuse, which never made it into the news at the time. Brooklyn: No, I don’t think anyone in the public would have known. My mother was a very private person. She was very open in many ways in sharing her [musical] gift and being very grounded and down to earth with people and gracious, but she was an extremely private person. I think it was important for us to share that part of her story, because it’s a part of what made her human. Those trials and tribulations she had to overcome just show you how amazing it was that she was able to achieve this pinnacle of success and survive it all. Hopefully it was a message to many other women that you don’t have to stay in that situation; that you can move on from it and have a successful life and a successful future relationship. Allison: Do you have any rituals for when you feel your mom’s presence or when you really miss her? Is there anything in particular that makes you feel closer to her? Brooklyn: It’s not necessarily a ritual, but more of an acknowledgement like, “Hi, mom.” I really feel almost now more than ever that wherever she is, it’s not far. She is right here (gesturing towards her shoulder) with me. I live my life and operate in a way where I acknowledge that she is that close to me. There were many moments during this filmmaking process, and over the years, where something will happen and I say, “Okay. Here she is.” Roger and I would make a joke that she was the one directing this documentary (laugh). There were so many divine little moments and things that would happen to let us know that she was happy