Prison, My Parents and Me
1 x 60’ BBC One, Children in Need, 2016
Assistant Producer
The number of children with a mum or dad in prison is growing at an alarming rate. More than 10,000 children visit a prison every week, but while their parent is on the inside, outside the children are often bullied and left feeling isolated and ostracised.
In a groundbreaking film for Children in Need, True Vision gives a voice to this group of young people and reveals what it’s really like to lose a parent to the criminal justice system. Over the course of several months, these courageous and resilient families allowed us into their lives to show us how their parent’s imprisonment affects them in different ways.
Bafta-nominated film-maker Catey Sexton offers a humane and sensitive insight into the lives of those often lost in the system and reveals how prisoners' children are twice as likely to suffer from poor mental health, while two out of three boys with a dad in prison will go onto offend themselves.
This film will show that when children are given support when they are young, their futures could be bright - instead of some of them becoming the next generation of parents in prison. But other than a handful of charities and few enlightened prisons making a difference, there is still long way to go.
“Hard to watch, but compelling viewing”
“Both desperately sad and inspirational, in Catey Sexton’s touching documentary, the children of prisoners talk about living with false promises, incomprehension and the breakdown of trust”
“Thought provoking... provides a sensitive insight into what it’s really like to lose a parent to the criminal justice system.”