Maria Pia Calzone

Sara Verrocchio

A documentary about the Women's Shelters and the centers for support for women escaping domestic violence.

In 1999, Colorado mother Jessica Gonzales experienced every parent’s worst nightmare when her three young daughters were killed after being abducted by their father in violation of a domestic violence restraining order. Devastated, Jessica sued her local police department for failing to adequately enforce her domestic violence restraining order despite her repeated calls for help that night. Determined to make sure her daughters did not die in vain, Jessica pursues her case to the US Supreme Court and an international human rights tribunal, seeking to strengthen legal rights for domestic violence victims. Meanwhile, her relationship with her one surviving child, her son Jessie, suffers, as he struggles with the tragedy in his own way. Shot over the course of nine years, Home Truth chronicles one family’s incredible pursuit of justice, shedding light on how our society responds to domestic violence and how the trauma from domestic violence can linger through generations.

Behind the closed doors of the Copenhagen-based women's shelter, the women and children are slowly recovering after having escaped domestic violence. Day by day the women are processing their traumas, building confidence and slowly understanding what it takes to break the cycle of violence.

Having broken free from the domestic violence she suffered during 39 years of marriage to her ex-husband Amando, Martha tells her granddaughter Daniela, who is beginning her career as a filmmaker, to make a film out of the personal memoirs in which she narrates her painful past. In this process, despite having gotten a divorce, for over 15 years her family has continued to pressure Martha into spending time with her abuser.

What if your father murdered your mother? Maeve, Roser, and sisters Perla and Aurora each lost their mother, their father, and their safe home in a single day. Director Sara Kolster, in collaboration with expert Perla Joy, tells their stories about that single day, about how it could happen, but especially about what came afterward. Using tape, they reconstruct the contours of their childhood home, as it was before it became a crime scene, even though it served as a blueprint of their childhood.

An intimate account of a highly toxic relationship: during a lengthy visit from her boyfriend’s mother, the filmmaker documents the arguments between mother and son.