Damage

The Cahills would pass for a normal, happy, and all around successful family. Emma continues in the lifestyle of her father Aidan and mother Michelle, and begins trying to make it as a model. Hardly anyone suspects that the husband and wife live separate lives, the most important people in which are actually Aidan's secretary and their family friend John Ward, the father of their daughter's friend Laurel. The outward image of the socially well-positioned family changes however when the Cahills hold a party to celebrate their daughter's 21st birthday in their home in an elegant Dublin suburb, and Emma is raped. The girl refuses to silently reconcile herself with her traumatic experience. What chance does she have against her antagonist and his lawyers? How will she find a way to come to terms with what happened to her? And will her friends and family be capable of banding together to help her? This psychological drama by director Aisling Walsh tells of the dark shadows cast on the private and public image of one successful family. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)