Notions of family and dysfunction often go hand in hand, but rarely as vividly as in this compelling and unsettling documentary in which Larry Bobbit, an ex-LAPD hostage negotiator and surrogate dad to three middle-aged schizophrenic men, struggles to keep his family together. They’ve been evicted from their home and are forced to move into a cramped hotel in Alameda when things really start to unravel. For 20 years, Larry has been able to provide for his “sons,” but as the stresses from being uprooted build, so does Larry’s intake of alcohol. Sons of a Gun is an incisive document of society’s inability to accommodate mental illness and a fascinating window into the enduring bond between four unique and resilient individuals.

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Photographed by Rivkah Beth Medow, Greg O’Toole (75 min)