Apologizing can be a humbling experience. Like, Shireen, when was the last time you truly said “I’m sorry”? One time. In 2004, I think. It was the worst experience of my life! And I take it back! But there’s more forgiveness happening in a new movie starring Andre Holland and Andra Day. Deco’s Alex Miranda is not sorry about this story. I’m not sorry about anything—except for stealing Lynn’s lunch four times over the past two months and telling HR that Shireen did it.  But the apologies run much deeper in ‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’ when memories of childhood trauma are triggered right back. Sorry can be hard to say—and sometimes even harder to accept. And in the drama “Exhibiting Forgiveness”, an artist, played by André Holland, finds his path to success derailed by an unexpected visit. Alex: “In this story that adds abuse and trauma to it, what did you learn about fatherhood when taking on this role?” Andre Holland: “If I ever am lucky enough to ever become a father, this movie will have taught me that the smallest things can have such a profound impact on the outcome of young people’s lives.” It’s his estranged father, who John Earl Jelks plays, a recovering addict desperate to reconcile. Alex: “When watching the movie, I think a lot of the viewers are wondering on whether your character should be forgiven.” John Earl Jelks: “I just believe everybody deserves a second chance if that’s truly what they seek. And I also believe that if that person has totally forgiven themselves, they can honestly ask for forgiveness.” Together, they learn that forgetting might be harder than forgiving. John Earl Jelks: “He healed himself before he went to seek out this forgiveness. But he wanted to show that I’m different than the person that you knew.” Andra Day plays musician Aisha, who’s married to Terrell. Andra Day: “Were educated now; we talk about the trauma. But when you’re going through it as a young person, it’s normal. You know what I mean? You don’t look at it as trauma, but when you’re young, you’re just like, ‘I hate this; I’m scared; this is terrible.'” But since Andra is also a musician… Andra Day: “I just understand what it takes to forge a career in this particular field and it’s very all-encompassing. It takes all of your time. So, that was a similarity, but the difference is she has to do it with all these other mitigating factors. I don’t have children. I’m not married.” The raw story is vulnerably based on writer and director Titus Kaphar’s real life. Titus Kaphar: “My father was not the villain of my narrative; in fact, my father was as much a victim of circumstance as I was. He was a better father than his father was to him.” Alex: “Were there moments throughout this process that felt particularly uncomfortable for you?” Titus: “There is something about watching somebody else perform the thing that you had experienced that actually just rocked me to my core. I broke down. Man, I just cried because I remember being in that situation.” Exhibiting Forgiveness opens in So-Flo cinemas Thursday.