2023 | Chile | Documentary,Short

Volver a casa: madre VR (Going Back Home: Mother VR)

  • Spanish English 20 mins
  • Director | Catalina Alarcón
  • Writer | Catalina Alarcón
  • Producer | Daniela Camino, Maria Ignacia Court, Catalina Alarcón

STATUS: Released

This film is currently not available.   

Chilean women in prison have limited communication with their family—no visits, not even a conversation behind glass. Mothers sometimes spend years separated from their children, whom they have had to leave at home. This VR experience is the result of a project that gave a handful of these women the chance at least to have virtual contact with their loved ones.

We first see them in their cells and the common areas of the prison where they spend their time. They then put together a virtual museum of objects that connect them with home: a mirror, a rubber duck, a Mother’s Day card from their child. Each object brings to life the story of the people they have left behind.

In the emotional conclusion, we see the women put on a VR headset that enables them to briefly stand beside their children in virtual reality. For now, this is as close as they can get.

Family Gender Human Rights Incarceration Latin America Memory Prison social justice Technology