The Man Who Stole My Mother’s Face

Synopsis

Two days before Christmas in 1988, a woman was sexually assaulted and savagely beaten in her home by a young white teenager. Fourteen years on, the woman has still not recovered from this assault. The police bungled the investigation, the neighbours disputed her version of events and her son blamed her for letting the perpetrator into her house. The teenager, identified from a school photograph, was never charged and remains a free man. The woman's daughter is film-maker Cathy Henkel, and the film is her search for some form of justice and whatever it takes to help her mother heal and move on from this trauma. The journey takes her back to Johannesburg, city of her birth, to confront the past and the present climate of violence. The police re-open the case, but they run into numerous obstacles and the film-maker has to take matters into her own hands. What she discovers and the answers she brings back for her mother form the climax of this compelling and ultimately uplifting film.

Impact

"This film has helped me to trust people again. I am learning to like, even love, humanity, society, life itself." Laura Henkel, survivor of sexual assault.

The Director's Statment

I’ve seen the power of documentary film in telling personal stories that illuminate wider, universal issues that affect us all. I was inspired to use the documentary form to tell my mother’s story and try to get some justice and resolution for her. The statistics for sexual assault in Australia were (and still are) unacceptably high, and yet they represent only a portion of actual occurrences. Many women fear they will be blamed or not believed when they report this crime and if they do, they will undergo a traumatic experience in the justice system with little chance of success.

In making this film I wanted to expose this situation through my mother's case and explore the attitudes and issues that keep this crime so hidden and so prevalent. The answers I found have resonated beyond South Africa and helped to shed light on this complex problem for people around the world. The film aired on the ABC and was picked up by broadcasters in many countries including The Netherlands, Canada, South Africa, the USA and Israel. It won multiple awards including Best Feature Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, the Discovery Channel IF Award for Best Documentary in Australia in 2004 and the audience choice award at the London Australia Film Festival. It was nominated for many other awards and has screened at 25 international film festivals and continues to generate interest. It is still screening on the Sundance Channel in the USA, and recently played at film festivals in Boston, Berlin and New Zealand.

A key feature of the project was that we did not rely only on the documentary film and television broadcasts to tell this story and spread the message. We set up a comprehensive website that deals in depth with the issue of sexual assault. The site was approved and supported by key sexual assault and women’s health agencies in Australia and South Africa, and they have used the film and the website to raise awareness and generate wide community discussion on its important themes and to advocate to government for more assistance. The site tells the story from the perspective of 11 characters and provides follow up material and updates on the story. It also raises other important issues such as men’s role in confronting this crime, myths and stereotypes, information about healing and recovery and links to key help organisations and other useful websites.

There is a comprehensive Study Guide for use in schools and a web diary and news section. We also produced a DVD with extra material and undertook a web marketing campaign to further promote the website and DVD around the world. The film, website and DVD are helping to focus attention on the issue of sexual violence in over 30 countries where it has been screened. The story of my mother’s recovery from deep trauma has highlighted the importance of bringing this crime into the open to help survivors and their families deal with what has happened, and to encourage the justice system to improve the way they handle this horrific crime.

One of the main reasons why I made the film was the frustration and distress that I felt at seeing my mother locked away from the world and unable to heal and unable to recover. It became clear that without some kind of closure, acknowledgement and perhaps some form of justice, that she would never “just get over it”. My actions in confronting the suspect and making the film have helped my mother to become an active part of society again. She has renewed her trust in people and it has brought joy back into her life. For me, it’s beyond what I ever hoped for and still feels like something of a miracle."