Synopsis
Monica is the intimate and moving portrait of a woman living in Los Angeles who returns to her small Ohio home town for the first time in over 20 years to care for her dying mother, Eugenia. While staying in her childhood home, Monica must heal the wounds of her past with Eugenia and her brother, Paul. She forges her own path of forgiveness and acceptance by forming new relationships along the way with her sister-in-law, Laura, her mother’s caregiver, Leticia, as well as her niece and nephews. Exploring the universal themes of aging and beauty, rejection and alienation, Monica begins to reconstruct the mosaic of her life, recognizing herself as a whole person, stronger through pain and joy, both able to give and receive love.
Presented by the director
Filmmaker
Andrea Pallaoro
He holds an MFA in Film Directing from the California Institute of the Arts and a BA from Hampshire College. His first feature film, Medeas, starring Catalina Sandino Moreno and Brian O’Byrne, premiered at the 70th Venice Film Festival and won several awards at prestigious international film festivals. Hannah, Pallaoro’s second feature film, starring Charlotte Rampling, world premiered in the Official Competition of the 74th Venice Film Festival where Rampling won the Coppa Volpi for best actress.
Filmography: Monica (2022, D'A 2023), Hannah (2017, D'A 2018), Medeas (2013, D'A 2014), Wunderkammer (short film, 2008)
