BAY AREA, CA — An award-winning documentary by local filmmakers explores a darkness concealed behind Sonoma County's golden wine country image: domestic violence survivors facing a painful choice to remain in danger or escape but risk leaving behind something they love unconditionally.
"There's definitely darkness that lurks under the beauty of Sonoma County — and everywhere that's beautiful," the narrator of the documentary "Unconditional" says.
Bay Area filmmakers Albert Gregory and Danica Simonet directed "Unconditional," which follows veterinarian Sarah Reidenbach throughout Northern California as she provides free care for the pets of domestic abuse survivors from a retrofitted ambulance.
Reidenbach's care goes beyond her role as veterinarian. She works to remove an underreported barrier that prevents survivors from escaping abusive partners with their animals.
The film explores how the human-animal bond supports people during crises.
The experience of one of the women in the film, Mikko, brings an unexpectedly complicated bond involved in abuse into focus.
While Mikko endured domestic violence for years, her dog provided unconditional love and strength.
The catch is that to escape the abuse could mean leaving behind her beloved pet.
The film looks at this underreported barrier preventing survivors like Mikko from escaping their abusive partners and bringing their beloved animals with them.
They chose to tell this story through Dr. Reidenbach's mission but also through the women she helps on a daily basis, including Mikko and the other women featured in the film.
"We wanted the audience to hear directly from them what they've experienced and how their animals helped them through it," said Gregory.
The story won Gregory and Simonet two awards at the Healdsburg International Short Film Festival at the Raven Theater and the honor for best documentary at the Cotati Shorts Film Festival.
Judges awarded "Unconditional" best documentary and best local film.
The festival screens short films from around the world, with up to 50 countries represented.
The Sept. 26 celebrity jury included Ed Begley Jr., Laraine Newman, Tom Waits, and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Billy Ray, author of the new novel "Burn the Water."
The film also won best documentary Sept. 26 at the Cotati Shorts Film Festival.
Gregory, an editor for Patch, has worked as a journalist since 2018. His reporting on sex work, child marriage in the United States, and deaths among San Francisco's unhoused population helped him cover domestic violence, which often happens behind closed doors. Heard but not often seen.
He pursues nonfiction filmmaking as a way to show the human condition and plans to continue reporting on sensitive and underreported issues.
Simonet began making nonfiction films as an undergraduate. Her subjects included the global harms of electronic waste, the spiritual and cultural significance of water, and home and belonging for migrant and receiving communities.
During a break from filmmaking, she worked as director of development and communications for a Minnesota nonprofit that helped sex-trafficking survivors rebuild their lives.
The stories she heard prompted her return to filmmaking. She said her films now examine underreported social issues and barriers, especially those preventing women from living freely.
Q: What first drew you to Sarah Reidenbach's work, and why did you choose to tell this story through both her mission and Mikko's experience?
A: We were graduate documentary students at UC Berkeley and looking for our thesis project. We knew we wanted to do something cinematic and immersive. My partner told me about Dr. Sarah Reidenbach's organization, Ruthless Kindness. I learned that nearly half of domestic violence survivors wouldn't leave an abuser if they couldn't bring their pets. I knew instantly I needed to tell this story.
Q: What did you learn about the barriers survivors face when trying to leave an abusive partner with their pets, and what surprised you most?
A: We learned that there are far too many barriers preventing survivors from leaving with their pets when trying to flee an abuser. We learned that pets require vaccinations and must be medically cleared to enter a shelter, which is what RK provides. But we also learned about the lack of shelters that accepts pets. We learned that deficit creates a high need for foster care and that RK can never find enough. We learned how an abuser will use a pet to control the survivor and not let them leave.
Q: Albert, how did your journalism experience shape this film?
A: My experience as a journalist helped shape this film in almost every aspect, but it probably was most useful when it came to fact checking and verifying information. Domestic violence is an issue that happens behind closed doors, which makes it even more crucial to shine a light on, but it must be done in a sensitive way.
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