The Issue The Family Courts of England & Wales are "Closed Courts" which means that they are Secret Courts. Reporting what occurs in specific cases can be considered to be "Contempt of Court". Threat of imprisonment becomes a real possibility for anyone breaking the silence.
The We Are Family Project plan to address this by producing a documentary that details what forms some of the insanity takes. We will provide suggestions for clear solutions and improvements and look at where such aversion to common sense and reason comes from.
Latest: WE ARE NOW INTO THE LAST FEW DAYS OF FUND-RAISING ON SPONSUME.ORG AND IT SEEMS UNLIKELY THAT WE WILL ACHIEVE OUR GOAL TO BE FULLY FUNDED BEFORE WE START FILMING. WE ARE NOW AIMING TO RAISE JUST AS MUCH AS WE CAN IN THIS PERIOD AND WILL START SHOOTING ANYWAY AND CONTINUE TO TRY AND RAISE FUNDS AND JUST KEEP GOING…..
While the subject is very serious we intend to make a film that uses comedy and satire as much as serious reportage to demonstrate what goes on behind these closed doors. Michael Moore and Mark Thomas are inspirations every bit as much as Panorama, and we will address the many points that Dispatches on Channel 4 recently failed to deal with in their woeful “Sharing Mum and Dad” episode.
http://chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2013/01/30/17073/comedy_saved_my_sanity
We have been running "Dad/Fathers Rights/Childrens Rights" themed stand-up comedy nights and filming them, the edited shows are offered up as Rewards for people kind enough to donate to the fund to make this documentary. We have been, ahem, putting the "Fun" into "Fundraising". Tasters of the 30 or so comedians that have brought the funny can be enjoyed by clicking the following links:
Comedy legend Arthur Smith headlined one of the nights and generously agreed to allowing us to film his whole 30+ minute set and offer it to donors as a reward for supporting us. The full shows and themed comedy material cannot be found anywhere else. More acts, more funny stuff, more risque jokes can be enjoyed by making a donation to the fund and then receiving downloadable copies of the comedy shows. See a clip of Arthur in comedy action at the following link
We shall be interviewing many knowledgeable people, and sharing lengthy extracts from their interviews online, before the film is completed. The We Are Family Project website and Facebook page is, and will be, a great resource for those who find themselves caught in the Courts.
Britain now has the most un-happy children in the developed world.
Many Family Lawyers are clearly decent professionals who do the best that they can within a complex system. Nonetheless, a generation of children have often been stripped of one of their parents for very little reason. The Courts often appear to have notable bias while "The System" has its' own unwritten rules. "The System" has not been open for scrutiny and review. "The System" does not keep records of the outcomes of the decisions it has made for tens of thousands of kids. "The System" is deeply flawed.
The Future is Changing The government announced in the Winter of 2012 that they plan to reform Family Justice in the area of Shared Parenting. While it is commonly understood that Fathers in particular (and therefore their children) have had a raw deal in the Family Courts, there are those who oppose even the limited changes that are said to be coming. Some changes, such as the broad loss of access to Legal Aid will have an immense and negative impact. However, Legal Aid will be made available for those making allegations of domestic violence. This is a clear incentive for making false allegations. Other developments represent steps in the right direction, such as the development of Mediation as an alternative to the Courts. As are promises to speed up Children's Services investigations in general and the Court process in particular.
We Are Family Project Aims We wish to make a film that tells something of what have been seemingly common experiences in the Family Courts. The film will help to advise parents and kids caught up in the trap of what they might expect and how they might best manage through the trauma. We shall also highlight details of the planned changes and examine how they are to be executed, and by whom.
In this multi-media age we have the opportunity to publish significant information online. We will remind good people in "the system" that they are far from alone. We aim to reassure with the knowledge that there is strength in numbers, and by providing insight and solid advice. We shall produce podcasts and downloads of interviews with the powerful and the knowledgeable. This is first and foremost a documentary project. The media and research from the film will provide regularly updated content for the We Are Family Project sister website.
Money is needed to pay the lighting cameraman, rental of cmaera and audio kit, animation sequences, music, editing, transportation and location costs. This film is budgetted at 1/10th of the cost of my last broadcast documentary, digital media and committed production people reduce costs...but we still have costs.
We Shall Report.
We Shall Support.
The owner of this project has not made any updates yet.
