THE FAMILY SECRET
“I’ve been living with this secret for 25 years… it just eats away at you and it’s like living a double life”
The story of a family who confront a secret of sexual abuse after 25 years. With extraordinary access, the film follows the victim and the perpetrator - and the meeting that follows.
HELPLINES
If you or someone you know needs help related to childhood abuse, please visit our helplines page.
RUNTIME:
47 minutes
DIRECTOR:
Anna Hall
PRODUCER:
Sally Ogden
EDITOR:
Luke Rothery
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
Brian Woods
RELEASED:
2019
This documentary is utterly chilling. Such an extraordinarily brave woman to face her rapist - her brother! Very difficult viewing #TheFamilySecret
— plainj (@plainj30) December 3, 2019
#TheFamilySecret - such a poweful documentary and another example of why restorative justice should be made available to all victims of all crimes. Such useful learning too for us practitioners.
— Linda Millington (@LindaMillingto9) December 3, 2019
No words can actually describe the level of bravery and courage of Kath on #thefamilysecret on @Channel4 its such an emotional watch. That right there is the definition of strong.
— Bellabella (@EllaBellaBella) December 3, 2019
The Family Secret on UK Channel Four. Powerful and brave history-making TV. Kudos to all involved, particularly to survivors. Speaking as a survivor - I recognize that in you. #TheFamilySecret #Survivor
— Alex Karas (@sonicchypre) December 3, 2019
This documentary is utterly chilling. Cath is an extraordinarily brave woman to face her rapist brother with such power and dignity. Very difficult viewing but not a patch on the horror of the life she lived. #TheFamilySecret
— Margot McCuaig (@MargotMcCuaig) December 3, 2019
RECEPTION
"This story was told with such sensitivity and care for the subjects that the judges couldn’t fail to be impressed. They said that they were watching something utterly extraordinary and felt that filmmaker Anna Hall is one of the few people who could tell a story in this way."
The Grierson Trust, Best Single Doc, Domestic
"There are no histrionics. There are barely any tears. It was as powerful a portrait of a family not shocked, not grieving, but harrowed to its very soul as we are likely to see. My only fear is of lesser, copycat versions to follow by less scrupulous and disciplined film-makers, but let us hope conscience prevails.
“I feel like I am really me now,” were Katherine’s final words. She is extraordinary."
★★★★★
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian
BAFTA Nomination, Best Single Doc 2020
Edinburgh TV Festival Nomination, Best Single Doc
RTS Yorkshire Winner, Grant McKee Award for Single Documentary
RTS Yorkshire Winner, Production Excellence, Factual
★★★★★
The Telegraph
“It’s the kind of documentary the production company Candour specialises in - a devastating human story told with sensitivity, but sparing us nothing.”
Radio Times
"This one-off documentary probes the deeply uncomfortable revelation of sexual abuse in a family, 25 years after the incident occurred."
The Guardian
"Regular Emmy - and Bafta - winning production company Candour have produced what sounds like another awards contender in this intriguingly conceived, groundbreaking one-off documentary."
The Telegraph
"CHALLENGING documentary about sexual abuse within a family that has been kept secret for 25 years."
Daily Mail
"There’s a culture of lies, secrecy and shame that allows child sexual abuse to go unchallenged. We must confront it."
Huffpost
"Restorative justice for a rape victim as family secrets tumble out"
iNews
"No forgiveness: a victim confronts her abuser"
The Times
"an extraordinary account of child abuse"
The Guardian
"The subject is ghastly, yet this is a documentary with an unvarnished power."
The Times
"The bravery of Katherine, the woman at the centre of Anna Hall’s extraordinary documentary, is immense, given that she has allowed cameras to witness her confront the man who raped her from the age of seven."
iNews
"The courage of the woman at the centre of this story is extraordinary." Radio Times