06 Oct Sons of Perdition – The Movie
I was recently commissioned to shoot some portraits for Tyler Measom, the co-director, along with Jennilyn Merten of the hot new documentary Sons of Perdition. Sons of Perdition follows three teenage boys after they escape from the powerful FLDS polygamist sect and must fend for themselves in mainstream America. We met the three main characters – Sam, Bruce and Joe – at an abandoned warehouse in Salt Lake City for a quick late evening shoot. I have to hand it to these kids. After all they have been through, they remain confident and excited about life. Some of the images from the shoot can be found at the bottom of this post.
A bit about the film…
In the remote desert of Utah hides Colorado City, the oldest polygamist compound in the United States. Here men have plural wives and raise their children by the strict code of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saint religion (FLDS).
Shortly after his rise to power in 2003, the FLDS’ prophet Warren Jeffs began a systematic effort to cleanse his flock for the end of the world. He banned public schooling, gentile books, recreations, and excommunicated prominent men, marrying their women and children to other men. Hundreds of teenage boys were exiled to the streets of neighboring communities. Many more followed, giving up their families and salvation in the hope of escape.
Sons of Perdition follows three boys after they leave the isolation of Colorado City and join an underground network of exiled FLDS teens. Condemned to hell by their community, many of the boys turn to drugs and alcohol. With limited educations and rarely a stable address, the obstacles are enormous. All the boys have big dreams—starting with the hope of attending high school— but what they want most is contact with their families. For one teen in the film, this means numerous attempts to help his fourteen-year-old sister escape before an arranged marriage.
With unprecedented access, Sons of Perdition takes audiences on a three-year-journey into the lives of these remarkable teens, providing the inside analysis to make this intimate portrait a big story—a timely, critical look at faith, family and religious exile in mainstream America.
The film was recently picked up by Oprah’s new documentary film network, scheduled to open in January 2011. Congrats guys!
View the entire image gallery, purchase prints or license images here.
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