The Family
Rosie Jones
| Australia
| 2016
| 98 min
The Family sheds light on one of Australia’s most notorious cults, in a powerful and moving film by Melbourne director Rosie Jones (The Triangle Wars, Antenna 2011). ‘The Family’ was a sinister apocalyptic cult active in Melbourne in the ’60s and ’70s led by Anne Hamilton-Byrne; beautiful, charismatic, and convinced she was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. At least 28 children were ‘acquired’ and raised in total isolation, and subjected to years of abuse – including beatings, starvation, and injections with LSD. The Family pulls back the cover on the murky story of a still-operating sect, revealing the scars the victims still carry to this day, and asking difficult questions about how it was allowed to flourish in the first place.
Director Rosie Jones
Producer Anna Grieve
Premiere Sydney Premiere
Section Australian Competition
Festival Year 2016