Coming to Investigation Discovery tonight, Thursday, December 21:
THE FAMILY I HAD
Directors:
Katie Green and Carlye Rubin
Premiere:
Tribeca 2017
Select Festivals:
New Orleans, Docaviv, Camden, Hamptons, Melbourne
About:
A mother reckons with the aftermath of her son’s horrific crime.
In 2007, 13-year-old Paris brutally killed his four-year-old half-sister Ella, stabbing the child to death and then reporting the incident to 911. Left to pick up the pieces was their single mother, Charity, grieving for her lost daughter while facing separation from her clearly troubled son. Green and Rubin revisit the terrible crime while also combing through the family’s archives to try to make sense of Paris’ violent action, revealing along the way a surprising history of tragedy in Charity’s own upbringing. As the resilient woman starts over, having another child pointedly named Phoenix, Charity balances her fear of Paris and his potential future actions with a genuine forgiveness for him and a drive to help others impacted by crime. While offering no easy answers to this family tragedy, the film sensitively explores the complex ties of family and love.
what (not) to doc 