"Monica is very inspired by the life of a very dear friend of mine. It’s not her story, I want to mention, but it’s certainly a film that draws a very similar parallel to the life of my friend." - Andrea Pallaoro
"Monica" is an intimate portrait of a powerful yet delicate and extremely feminine woman, who returns home to the Midwest for the first time in 20 years to take care of her dying mother. As they see each other, they are as strangers who slowly start getting to know each other, perhaps because this is also the first time Monica’s mother sees Monica for who she is and not what she wanted her to be. This beautiful story explores the universal themes of abandonment, aging, rejection, acceptance, and forgiveness. Without too many words, we are led into Monica’s world and state of mind, the pain and fear, needs and desires of a woman whose journey ultimately illuminates the human condition.
Andrea Pallaoro graduated in directing from Hampshire College and from the California Institute of the Arts. His first short film, “Wunderkammer” (2008), was presented at over fifty film festivals.