Brady Ehler, lain W. Reeve, and Vince Yim,
Crack Theatre Squad

Banking on Heaven

lain W. Reeve

This was, without a doubt the best film | saw at the
festival. The film was a documentary investigating
the fundamentalist polygamist groups in Arizona,
Utah, and Texas. It sought to outline the abuse—
mental, physical, and sexual—that occurs in these
communities. Also brought to light were the
extreme cases of fraud, which were used to support
the leadership of what could easily be called a cult.
This film hit particularly close to home considering
that a community of the same faith exists here in
the BC town of Bountiful.

Banking on Heaven took great pains to outline
the life of the communities. Interviews with former
residents, both outcasts and escapees, Current resi-
dents, and activists and government officials
showed the many sides of the issue. The audience
learned of disgusting cases of sexual abuse with
girls as young as seven. It contained many
heartrending stories. The most depressing part of
the film was the section that demonstrated the lack
of action on the part of government and the larger
Mormon Church to try and Stop any of what is hap-
pening.

| appreciate the passion of the filmmakers to
bring attention to this long-ignored issue. It’s
impossible for me to go into all the detail
necessary to do this movie justice. To_. il
learn more about the issue, | wal
suggest you check out |
www.polygamy.org.