Scene Release

Documentary for Children in Need showing what it is like to be a prisoner’s child, giving children often lost in the system a chance to tell their own stories. The number of children with a mum or dad in prison is growing at an alarming rate. Nearly 10,000 children visit a prison every week, but while their parent is on the inside, outside the children are often bullied and left feeling isolated and ostracised.

Bafta-nominated film-maker Catey Sexton gives a humane and sensitive insight into the lives of those often lost in the system and reveals how prisoners’ children are twice as likely to suffer from poor mental health, while two out of three boys with a dad in prison will go on to offend themselves. The film shows that when children are given support, their futures could be bright – instead of some of them becoming the next generation of parents in prison. But other than a handful of charities and few enlightened prisons making a difference, there is still long way to go.