The Family is an upcoming documentary about a cult led by Anne Hamilton-Byrne, whose followers were left to believe she was Jesus Christ reincarnate.
The documentary recounts stories from past cult members, as well as law enforcement officers that were investigating the cult at the time it was operating, between the 1960’s all the way through to the 1990’s.
Anne Hamilton-Byrne, the cult’s leader, was a charismatic person who believed that a third world war would one day wipe out most of humanity.
With the help of her husband and other cult members that worked within the public health system, Hamilton-Byrne would gather children and claim them as her own, in order to raise them and have them ready to re-train the world after the next world war.
The children were isolated from the world and raised in the Dandenongs and Lake Eildon, being taught to believe that Hamilton-Byrne was their mother and the messiah, through the alleged use of LSD and physical assault.
It’s quite a shocking story by the sounds of it, one that I’d never heard of before.
It’s good to see that Australian filmmakers Rosie Jones and Anna Grieve have brought light to this story, not only for entertainment purposes, but also as an outlet for survivors to unburden themselves.
There is obviously a lot more to the story that the trailer doesn’t show, adding to the intrigue.
The Family is set for limited release across Australian cinemas from 23 February 2017, check out the trailer below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGsMZdNs9hI
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