In Osage County, Oklahoma, a mysterious yet familiar clergyman arrives and bears witness to soulful accounts from residents sharing a heartrending array of moving memories. Some subjects have suffered, some have caused suffering, all are struggling as they confront death, life, and demons both within and without. The camera and counsel alike stand by faithfully, receiving and eliciting candor and calm in equal measure as the poignant vignettes unfold. Heartbreak, regret, faith, resignation: all resonate profoundly in a succession of exquisitely photographed scenes of intimate communion, imbued with a fitting palette of shadowy blues. Part confessional, part tone poem, part folk ballad, Thy Kingdom Come is a deeply personal and uniquely conceived interpretation of Americana and its portraiture, as the subjects speak their hearts and minds, narrating their own ever-present pasts to the pensive and beguiling observer. The camera is often compared to a discerning eye, but under Eugene Richards’s lyrical direction, we sense it can also be a sympathetic ear.  TM

Q&A following screening