The Family Tree is a holiday film author Jorge Ameer wrote as a dedication to the wonderful holiday experiences he had growing up as a child in Panama in addition to the fictional story being told. The film was conceived to honor his mother Mrs. Sybil B. Ameer who loved Christmas and the year end holidays.
Clinica Hospital San Fernando serves as a pivotal setting in the fictional drama of "The Family Tree". It is also the hospital where filmmaker Jorge Ameer's mother Mrs. Sybil Ameer passed away at 1:28 am on Saturday, January 28, 2017. The hospital facilitated the same room (7114), hallway and area where the filmmaker spent most of his time until her passing. Per the filmmakers request, the hospital made special arrangements to have room 7114 cleared and available for filming of one of the last moments in the film.
The Family Tree was selected as the Opening Night Gala for the 10th edition of the Marina del Rey Film Festival. The festival held a cast talk after the film's presentation. "The Family Tree" closed the festival winning Best Picture & Best director for author/filmmaker Jorge Ameer.
Opening film of the LA LIVE Film Festival 2020 (Saturday, November 7, 2020 5:00PM)
Q&A Moderated by SoCal Magazine & Obvious Magazine (Los Angeles)
The Family Tree was selected as the THE # 1 LGBT film of 2020 by long time film critic Amos Lassen during his end of the year roundup of best LGBT movies of 2020.