The Family Statement
ABOUT
The Sackler family are one of the richest families in America, building a fortune on the back of addictive pharmaceutical drugs like OxyContin. Using messages drawn from their private family WhatsApp group, this film constructs a dialogue between the Sacklers and those on the frontline of the opioid crisis. Blending the family’s PR attempts at deflection with the often-unheard voices of those suffering, The Family Statement offers a poignant commentary on capitalism, corporate accountability, denial, and pain.
Grace is an award-winning filmmaker whose work playful uses cinematic form to explore how socio-political contexts embed themselves into daily experience. Her films have presented at international film festivals and gallery spaces including Camden International Film Festival, DOC NYC, Hamptons International Film Festival, BFI LFF, Sheffield Doc/Fest, OpenCity, The ICA and The British Library. Her mid length film ‘Speak to Me’ was selected for the 2018 British Council presentation of films, and her 2015 short ‘Here We Are’ was showcased at BAFTA when she was selected as a BAFTA Star of The Future. She is an associate professor on the Documentary Film MA at University College London and is currently making her debut feature with the support of Catapult Film Fund, the Points North Institute, Chicago Media project, the British Council and BAFTA. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Points North Institute, BAFTA and UnionDocs.
Kate Stonehill is a Grierson award winning filmmaker whose work explores power and citizenship in the digital age. She experiments with form in her films, playing with genre conventions to investigate truth. Her recent directing credits include Fake News Fairytale (The Atlantic, DOC NYC, Short of the Week), The Family Statement (Field of Vision, CIFF, Sheffield Doc/Fest) and Mother (AFI Docs, BFI London Film Festival). As a cinematographer, she has worked on films for Channel 4, VICE and Amazon Studios. She has exhibited work at leading festivals and galleries (BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, The Showroom), is a recipient of the Logan Nonfiction Fellowship, and has received grants from the Tribeca Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and BFI Doc/Society. Phantom Parrot, her debut feature, will premiere in 2023.