The film begins with Mendralla reliving the messages Loconti posted before his death, then cycles through the wealth of knowledge Mendralla uncovers about the self-professed “biggest mama’s boy” through his friends and their posts on his page.
“I went into the film thinking it was just a way to understand what our connection was,” said Mendralla, adding that she was “dreading” the interview beforehand, but afterward “found it almost healing because I got to get that out, and my son got his emotions out. It was painful, but really an interesting part of closing that circle of anguish. We’ve all gotten much closer.”
The advertising agency, 72U, heard about Loconti’s story through mutual friends and came to Chicago to interview family and friends as part of a bigger project. After watching hours of dance footage and interviews, the crew decided to focus strictly on Loconti, friends said.
“We went to L.A. to view the film, and we had no idea the film was about us. To see the project was written about Tom and us — it was really overwhelming,” Mendralla said, remembering the flood of emotions when she walked in to watch the film and saw a giant picture of her 20-year-old self and 2-year-old Loconti during “really hard times” on the screen.
“It was pretty awe-inspiring — one of the most special events I’ve had since Tom’s passing because it was seen through someone else’s eyes,” Mendralla said.
The film has thousands of views and was picked as a “top short film” by Vimeo staff. It also opened Mendralla’s eyes about social media, she said.
“For once in my life, I believe social media is actually a good thing,” she said. “In a society where social media is wonderful or distracting, it’s great to see social media can bring people together whether it’s good times or bad. Not everyone can mourn as a community, but Facebook is allowing that.”
Article Appeared @http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150504/downtown/short-film-on-plainwhite-toms-suicide-examines-grief-digital-age