Zed
History 52'

What Ever Happened to Rosemary Kennedy?

In 1941, JFK’s sister, Rosemary, mysteriously disappeared from public sight after a lobotomy ordered by her own father. She emerged half-paralyzed, with the mental age of a 3-year-old child! Joseph Kennedy had his daughter institutionalized, and imposed a veil of silence upon the family, which became complicit in this erasure effort.

 

For the first time, this film explores what has remained to this day the Kennedy family’s darkest secret. It takes us deep within the famous Kennedy’s youth, revealing the mad ambition of the parents who wanted to turn their model family into an instrument to rise to political power.

 

Diving into the many official archives, photos and family films, letters and diaries, this full archive documentary tells the story of a child sacrificed by her own family because her psychological fragility didn’t fit within the clan’s ambitions.

Direction: Patrick Jeudy

Production: Hauteville Productions, Eklektik Productions, RTBF for France Télévisions

Languages: French, English

awards & festivals

  • Prix Italia

    Official selection

  • History Film Festival

    Best editing award

  • FIGRA - Les écrans de la réalité

    Official selection

  • Festival de Luchon

    Documentary Grand Prize

see also