Sons of Perdition (film)

Background

"Sons of perdition" is a term used by some Latter Day Saint denominations, including the FLDS Church, to describe former members who have apostatized from their religion and faith. The term is derogatory and intended to convey unholiness, sin and evil. Within the FLDS Church in the border towns of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, under the severe rule of prophet Warren Jeffs, hundreds of teenage boys were exiled from their homes and families among the FLDS faithful for infractions such as wearing short-sleeved shirts, listening to music or talking to girls. Whether forced out by church leadership or a deliberate choice to escape the harsh environment, the exiled teenage boys were shunned by their families and community. As a result of their limited education and lifelong insulation from the world apart from their polygamous community, these "Lost Boys" were ill-equipped to manage life on the outside of the church. Many of the youngsters turned to drugs or alcohol to cope with the traumatic separation; others found themselves in trouble with the law.

Directors Tyler Measom and Jennilynn Merten followed these Lost Boys for four years to bring to the film the personal perspective of the exiled boys. As described by one film reviewer:

Sons of Perdition's concentration on Joe, Bruce, and Sam—and, to a lesser extent, their exiled compatriots—is a shrewd one, allowing for a focused examination of the toll wrought by such an upbringing on teens undergoing the process of self-definition. Less a definitive historical account of American polygamy than a study of a very particular strain of post-traumatic stress disorder, Measom and Merten's doc is cautiously inspiring in its snapshot of independence blossoming amidst oppression, heartbreaking in its empathetic portrayal of lost young men permanently scarred by their elders, and infuriating in its clear-sighted depiction of the criminal and emotional horrors perpetrated in the service of religious psychosis.

Measom and Merten found the subject matter appealing in part because of their own experience of having abandoned the Mormon faith they grew up in.

Cast

The documentary features three teenage boys, Sam Zitting, Joseph Broadbent, and Bruce Barlow. At the time of filming, all three were living in St. George, Utah, having left the dictates of Warren Jeffs and the FLDS Church, whose members resided in the Arizona–Utah twin cities of Colorado City and Hildale (known also as the Crick or Short Creek). The film also features Utah private investigator Sam Brower.

Tribeca Film Institute

The film received a grant from the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund in 2008.

Tribeca Film Festival 2010

On April 24, 2010 Sons of Perdition made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere in New York, having been selected from more than 5,000 submissions from 38 countries.

The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by actor-director Robert De Niro. On the opening day of the 2010 festival, De Niro named Sons of Perdition as one of his favorites of the festival.

Silverdocs Documentary Festival 2010

The AFI-Discovery SilverDocs Documentary Film Festival, founded in 2003 by the American Film Institute and the Discovery Channel, is a pre-eminent international documentary film festival held annually at the AFI Silver Theater in the Washington, D.C. area.

In 2010, Sons of Perdition was selected from more than two thousand submissions as one of eleven documentary films to compete at the festival's 2010 Sterling U.S. Feature Competition. Regarding the quality of documentary submissions in 2010, Silverdocs' artistic director, Sky Sitney, noted, "[W]e received more high-quality submissions than ever before, making it harder than ever to select the films for the 2010 program. This Festival slate represents the very best the documentary form has to offer."

Broadcast acquisition and debut

Based on the film's success at the Tribeca Film Festival, Sons of Perdition was acquired by the Oprah Winfrey Network and made its broadcast debut in June 2011.