Warning: This film explores themes of suicide, mental health, domestic violence and homicide that some viewers may find distressing. Viewer discretion is advised.
Stan has released the trailer for its documentary Revealed: KillJoy, which will premiere on 8 September and ‘offers a unique view of family violence in Australia’.
As per a spokesperson for Stan: ‘Kathryn Joy was three months old when their father killed their mother. He served just 22 months and by age four, Kathryn was back living with him in the house he killed their mother in, with little knowledge of what happened to her.
‘Spanning over forty years, Revealed: KillJoy follows Kathryn from a child, into adulthood as they embark on a journey to uncover their mother’s buried story. Confronting psychological risk at every turn, Kathryn forms a relationship with their mother and builds a meaningful life as an activist.’
Kathryn Joy said: ‘In many ways, this film feels like a love letter to my mother, and to those whose lives she touched. I’m so grateful to have been given the space to tell a story that she exists within, a story where she has not been erased. It has been a beautiful opportunity to know her more deeply, and to grieve her collectively.
‘Children and young people bereaved by domestic homicide are rarely part of the conversations surrounding family abuse and violence, and they should be. They need more support, more advocacy, and more nuanced conversations about those who choose to cause harm, and the systems that allow this harm to continue.
‘Being able speak on my own terms, with the support and care of so many, has been a life-changing experience. May this story offer a remedy to the enormous injustice of my mother’s death.’
The Stan Original Documentary Revealed: KillJoy is produced by Lisa Albert and Directed by Vincent Lamberti (Intervention: Stories from the Inside), with associate producers Kathryn Joy and Jess Hill (See What You Made Me Do) and Executive Producers Ivan O’Mahoney (Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra, Folau) and Adam Farrington-Williams (Under Cover). It is a Fringe Dweller Films production for Stan. Principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with VicScreen, The Post Lounge and Shark Island Foundation. The documentary has been developed with assistance from Shark Island Foundation, VicScreen and Screen Australia. Stan Executive Producers are Cailah Scobie and Alicia Brown.
Revealed: KillJoy will premiere on 8 September on Stan.
