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After a highly unconventional childhood in Children of God, a cult that mixed religion
with sex, filmmaker Noah Thomson escaped to begin a normal life. But after
experiencing years of sexual abuse and neglect, Thomson and other former members of
the organization may never know what "normal" is. The CINEMAX Reel Life
documentary follows Thomson as he searches for others who have tried to start a new life
outside the cult - and searches for answers about his own lost childhood.
Children of God (now known as The Family) started in 1968 in California. It was part of
the Jesus movement of the late 1960s, and many early converts were hippies. In 1974,
The Family began a method of evangelism called "flirty fishing" - using sex to show
God's love and win converts. Flirty fishing has been compared by some to religious
prostitution, and was discontinued in 1987. David Berg, the founder and prophetic leader
of the cult, communicated with his followers via "Mo Letters" - letters of instruction and
counsel on a myriad of spiritual and practical subjects. Following Berg's death in late
1994, his wife, Karen Zerby, became leader of The Family.
In CHILDREN OF GOD: LOST AND FOUND, Noah Thomson sets out to
interview other ex-Children of God, discovering that these young, second-generation
members have often failed to thrive in the outside world, turning to drugs, crime and
suicide, unable to adjust to a society indifferent to their abuse as children. Surprisingly, a
few still find value in the Children of God, bowing to the organization's request that they
not give interviews, or telling Thomson they see nothing wrong with their upbringing.
Thomson also reaches out to his mother several times in the film, asking her to be
interviewed and defend the family she has chosen in place of her actual family.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: Noah Thomson was born in Brazil in 1976 in a Children
of God commune. As a child he moved around often, living in campers and tents
in various communes. At 18, he moved to a commune in Japan and worked for
the Children of God's in-house video production unit. After leaving the cult, he
started collecting video footage to document his childhood. Children of God: Lost
and Found is his first film. He lives in Brooklyn.
The producers of Children of God: Lost and Found are Fenton Bailey and Randy
Barbato, the intrepid filmmaking duo that has produced many critically
acclaimed documentaries for HBO and Cinemax over the years, most recently,
The Hidden Führer: Debating the Enigma of Hitler's Sexuality for Cinemax Reel
Life. Bailey/Barbato also produced 1998's Party Monster, 2000's 101 Rent Boys,
2000's The Eyes of Tammy Faye for Cinemax Reel Life, 2002's Monica in Black
and White as well as ten popular Shock Video specials. They are currently
working on a new HBO documentary about Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.
Directed and Produced by Noah Thomson; Executive Produced by Fenton Bailey and
Randy Barbato; Co-Produced by Mona Card; Edited by Mike Rysavy. For Cinemax Reel
Life: Supervising Producer: Sara Bernstein; Executive Producer: Sheila Nevins.
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