Short Summary
The Project
Embroiled in a fierce custody case, one parent risks everything to stop the other from the horrific psychological abuse of their children. An explosive battle fought largely in the courtroom leaves the children’s fate in the balance, and leads to a landmark legal verdict that no one could have predicted.
This project is a fictional feature film, but based on a true story, drawn from our Story Consultant's real-life battle to gain custody of his children. It will show the devastation that millions of families around the world are facing. This landmark case, sitting largely unknown, can be used as precedent for millions of families torn apart by divorce courts. By making the case known in an exciting courtroom drama/suspense feature film, we will not only be educating the public about family bond obstruction, but also giving lawyers, judges, and families case law they can use. Think of it as the most exciting legal education you have ever gotten, combined with exposing the secret world of family courts where children's tears are converted into profits.
We intend to shoot the film in the southeast Pennsylvania area.
This Film will educate about Parental Alienation (PA). PA is a syndrome where one parent manipulates a child to harm the other parent. The children are used to destroy the targeted parent as a means of revenge. Severe alienation is now seen as a largely overlooked form of child abuse (Bernet et al, 2010). For the child, this is a serious mental condition, based on a false belief that the alienated parent is dangerous and an unworthy parent. The severe effects on children are well-documented; low self-esteem, self-hatred, lack of trust, depression, substance abuse and other forms of addiction are widespread, as children lose the capacity to give and accept love from a parent. (2) {1. definitions.uslegal.com 2. Psychology Today: Edward Kruk PhD: The Impact of Parental Alienation on Children}
Getting this film to the public will help to educate parents, teachers, mental health professionals, lawyers, judges, legislators and many more. The more awareness there is of psychological abuse to children by their own parents, the more we can change laws to end it and promote better family dynamics. Our philosophy is that sometimes people are more likely to listen while they are being entertained. We intend to show PAS in action, showing how it affects children in a real way, without lecturing or even necessarily mentioning the syndrome itself.
Our Cast
Emmy Award Winning Actor Armand Assante (Mambo Kings, American Gangster)
Academy Award Nominated Actor Eric Roberts (Runaway Train, The Dark Knight, Inherent Vice)
Eliza Roberts. Beautiful actress (Animal House). Savvy businesswoman. Mom and proponent of children' rights to love both parents.
Our Captain
Jacob LaGuardia signs on as director of The Decree. Jacob is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, holding a degree in Filmmaking, and has held many key crew positions on features and in television, including “Last Vegas.” He has been involved with over 100 TV commercials and music videos, including directing several. His feature award winning directorial debut “As The Crow Flies” sold at The American Film Market and will be distributed on Hulu and Amazon Instant Video in 2016. As a storyteller, Jacob will draw focus to capture the human condition and make the story relatable to the most diverse audiences ad we are excited to have him lead our team.
Our Story
Darryl: Story Consultant. One day, one of my children was in complete distress. After evaluation by a psychologist, the phrase Parental Alienation was dropped on me like a ton of bricks. It was at this point that I learned that the only way to free my child's suffering was to free him from his abuser. I vowed to my child that I would do anything to stop the hurt. And EVERYTHING is what it took.
I know so many people that have been affected by this abuse--and so do you, even though you may not know it. The more people I talk to who have had divorce in their families, the more I see how rampant this problem is. I believe that children have the right to know both their parents, and should not be deprived of these essential relationships when their parents are no longer together. No child should be encouraged to hate their mother or father. The effects are lifelong, and so harmful to a person's overall well-being. I want this story to bring to light the need for our court system to change. I want to give people hope that if they are going through this, they can survive it, and that their children will be ok. I want to promote healthier family relationships. Let's work together to educate and bring about a better world for our children.
What You Get