Mum and Dad Are Splitting Up

(BBC, 2014)

"An exemplary piece of documentary making - compassionate, truthful, and sensitive"

 

What is the lasting impact of divorce and separation on the children of "failed" marriages?

In this critically acclaimed film, five young people sit down to discuss openly their parents' separation, often in the presence of both parents, and often asking important questions that have remained unsaid for years. A shocking and surprisingly uplifting insight into the reality of modern family life.

Watch the full film below.

Clip (3 mins)


PRESS

 

"This shattering film is as simple as the title suggests: it merely points a camera at some teenagers and asks them about the breakdown of their parents' relationship. But what it reveals is the tremendous pain and desperation they felt and in many cases continue to feel."  Sunday Times

"Olly Lambert is one of the most accomplished filmmakers working in television today. He makes films about subjects that matter; he films them with the eye of a cinematographer and he has the rare gift of getting people to open up in front of the camera with an honesty that is intensely moving. If he didn't make films, he would probably be a brilliant counsellor."  The Times

"The tremendous documentarian Olly Lambert entered the war zone of failed marriage... This exquisitely painful film should be available at every branch of Relate." Andrew Billen, The Times

"An exemplary piece of documentary making - compassionate, truthful, and sensitive enough to know that when the tears start rolling that's the camera's cue to stop." The Arts Desk

"Terribly sad and deeply affecting. What could have been horribly exploitative becomes revealing and deeply involving, thanks to Lambert's canny combination of fearlessness and empathy." Time Out

CREDITS

 

Film Editor: Julian Rodd

Composer: Mat Davidson

Producer: Josephine Besbrode

Lighting Camera: Will Edwards, Johann Perry, John Sayers

Executive Producer BBC: Emma Willis

Executive Producer: Peter Dale

Produced and Directed by Olly Lambert