Best Documentary Award For Families On Trial Short Film

Film raises awareness of challenges faced by prisoners’ families, funded by the Nationwide Foundation

A film funded by the Nationwide Foundation has been given the best documentary award in the Babelgum Online Film Festival. Families on Trial is a compilation of five short films which were commissioned by Prisoners' Family and Friends Service and developed in partnership with five other charities. Families on Trial is shown to professionals such as social workers, solicitors, police officers and doctors to provide training and raise awareness of the trauma, stigma and financial challenges experienced by families with a close relative in custody.

The UK prison population has risen by 30% in the last 10 years to 92,000. The impact on a child of the arrest and sentencing of a parent can be severe, with children of prisoners three times more likely to suffer mental health problems than their peers.*

The Nationwide Foundation has been funding six charities supporting prisoners’ families: Action for Prisoners’ Families; the Castle Gate Trust, NIACRO, Prisoners’ Families and Friends Service, SHARP and Storybook Dads. The Foundation encouraged the charities to work in partnership and from this the charities developed the unanimous desire to improve the understanding of professionals who do not work in the justice service, but who handle the fallout for families with someone in prison.

Judge Chapple from the Inner London Crown Court says: "One of the saddest aspects of my job is the number of repeat offenders I see in front of me. Often these individuals have become isolated from their families and support networks; all too often they become trapped in a spiral of decline and despair. All evidence suggests that offenders who continue to have contact with and support from their families are more likely to exit the criminal justice system and achieve a successful rehabilitation back into society. The pressure on offenders' families is often intense and so we must do all that we can to support them and ensure that the intrinsic role they play in rehabilitating their family members is recognised, appreciated and supported. Their role is vital - not only for their families' well-being - but also for the dramatic difference they can make to wider society by helping break the cycle of crime."

Lisa Suchet, chief executive of the Nationwide Foundation says: "The Nationwide Foundation has spent the last five years working with prisoners families. During my visits to charities, I have seen first-hand the difficulties faced by people who have a family member in prison. Throughout our funding we have encouraged the six charities to work together in partnership, as the issues each charity faces when dealing with support services are often the same. We are delighted that the outcome of this partnership is an innovative documentary film which has been recognised externally as a highly valuable and quality resource. Our hope is that with this accreditation, the film will be viewed by more professionals and therefore lead to more sensitive and tailored support for families."

Notes to editors:
*Source: Bromley Briefing 2009, Prison Reform Trust

The Babelgum Online Film Festival celebrates and rewards the best international independent short film-making.

More information about Families on Trial can be found at: www.familiesontrial.org.

The Nationwide Foundation is a registered charity, principally funded by Nationwide Building Society. The Nationwide Foundation exists to support people in need, by making grants to other UK charities. Currently, the Nationwide Foundation’s funding is being given to charities tackling housing and financial needs for vulnerable older people or survivors of domestic abuse.

More information about the Nationwide Foundation can be found at nationwidefoundation.org.uk

The Nationwide Foundation is a registered charity (no 1065552) and has limited liability being a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no. 3451979). Registered office address: Nationwide House, Pipers Way, Swindon, SN38 1NW.

Back to list of news releases.