From violent criminal to loving parent – a son’s story of his father’s transformation

In Violator, the Los Angeles-based filmmaker Edward Robles chronicles the turbulent life of his father, Christopher Robles, building a generation-spanning family portrait that blurs the boundary between biography and autobiography. Edward, who was raised with love and care by Christopher, details his father’s much more tumultuous upbringing – one that included severe childhood abuse, violent criminality, rehabilitation and, ultimately, a path to love through helping others, art and fatherhood. And, as Edward eventually reveals, it’s a life that is nearing its end due to the painful, fatal degenerative disease ataxia, which Edward has also inherited. Probing the events that shaped Christopher’s past, Edwards conveys the trauma and transformation that characterise his father’s life. In so doing, he grapples with how to best approach the rest of his own time on earth.