The Family

The Family

2016
1h 38m
7.7

7.7/10

6 votes • View on IMDb
Documentary

"Inside one of Australia's most notorious cults"

Overview

Anne Hamilton-Byrne was beautiful, charismatic and delusional. She was also incredibly dangerous. Convinced she was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, Hamilton-Byrne headed an apocalyptic sect called The Family, which was prominent in Melbourne from the 1960s through to the 1990s. With her husband Bill, she acquired numerous children – some through adoption scams, some born to cult members – and raised them as her own. Isolated from the outside world, the children were dressed in matching outfits, had identical dyed blonde hair, and were allegedly beaten, starved and injected with LSD. Taught that Hamilton-Byrne was both their mother and the messiah, the children were eventually rescued during a police raid in 1987, but their trauma had only just begun.

WATCH NOW

Status: Released

Language: EN

Watch "The Family"

Open in New Tab
Streaming provided by vidsrc.xyz • Video quality may vary • Use VPN if unavailable

Production Information

Production Companies
Dogwoof Big Stories Film Victoria Screen Australia BBC
Production Countries
Australia United States of America United Kingdom
Spoken Languages
English

Keywords

australia child abuse investigation manipulation lsd religious cult stolen child drug santiniketan park association

Quick Facts

Release Date July 30, 2016
Status Released
Language EN
IMDb ID tt5939770
Website Visit Site

Cast

Jordan Fraser-Trumble
Jordan Fraser-Trumble

Detective Lex De Man (young)

Anne Hamilton-Byrne
Anne Hamilton-Byrne

Herself (archive footage)

Bill Hamilton-Byrne
Bill Hamilton-Byrne

Himself (archive footage)

Lex De Man
Lex De Man

Himself (interview)

Key Crew

Rosie Jones
Director
Anna Grieve
Producer
Barbara Ghammashi
Executive Producer
Rosie Jones
Writer