C4 commissions The Polygamists (w/t)

22 August 2016

 

Channel 4 Documentaries have commissioned The Polygamists (w/t) from KEO Films, a series of 4 x 60 documentary films which will feature an extraordinary group of Fundamentalist Mormons living in the heart of the Utah desert. 

The channel has been given unprecedented access to a unique community of 15 families who live in homes carved into the face of a vast sandstone rock. Over half of the residents practice 'plural marriage' and the series will offer an intimate and revealing insight into the everyday lives of modern polygamous families.

From the dos and don’ts of courtship and appropriate ways to behave in front of your sister wife, to the management of sleeping arrangements and the protocols of special occasions such as Valentine’s day, the series will reveal how the families navigate the practical and emotional challenges of plural marriage whilst also examining the values and beliefs that have inspired them to pursue this way of life.

Filmed over 12 months, the series captures both birth and death within the community along with the logistics of bringing up supersize families and the highs and lows of communal living. It sees new and unexpected relationships blossom while others are tested to the limit.

As political debate rages on about whether polygamy should be considered a crime and with the mainstream Mormon church keen to distance itself from a practice it renounced almost 130 years ago, the films also explore how the families deal with the attitudes and curiosity of wider American society.

At a time when the entire concept of a traditional nuclear family is being redefined, this series will ask if there's anything we can learn from plural marriage and aims to encourage a reflection on attitudes towards love, relationships, family and faith.

The Polygamists (w/t) was commissioned by Anna Miralis, and the Executive Producers are Will Anderson and Andrew Palmer, Vicky Mitchell is Series Producer, Tanya Winston Series Director from Keo Films.

 

ENDS

 

Commissioning Editor, Documentaries: Anna Miralis, Amy Flanagan

Production company: Keo Films

Executive Producers: Will Anderson & Andrew Palmer