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In The Tradition of My Family is a gothic family saga. This seemingly normal, middle-class family has a unique tradition. When a son reaches his thirteenth birthday, his father wounds him with a gun, honoring both the long-standing family tradition and the boy, who is now a “new man.” The more dangerous the shooting and the more ghastly the scar, the more the recipient is honored by the family. That is, if he actually survives his wound. The film follows a young boy named Billy as he prepares for and experiences his new man ritual. In The Tradition of My Family examines what happens when these concepts of tradition and honor are questioned and the effect on the father’s relationship with his son.