A new documentary shining a light exploring parental alienation, family separation and the growing movement for family court reform will be filming in Peterborough.

People Against Parental Alienation (PAPA) is returning to the communities that helped shape its journey later this year.

Filming will take place across the East of England and surrounding areas at the end of September and beginning of October, with the documentary visiting Peterborough, Spalding and Wisbech.

The documentary will explore the roots of PAPA, the communities that supported its early growth, and the extraordinary journey that has seen a grassroots campaign develop into one of the UK’s largest grassroots movements and the largest to emerge from the East of England.

placeholder image — PAPA founder Simon Cobb.

PAPA has since grown into an international organisation campaigning on parental alienation, children’s relationships with their families and reform of the family justice system.

The organisation now reaches hundreds of thousands of people through its campaigns, research, support services, events and social media platforms, while its work on parental alienation and family court reform increasingly reaches audiences around the world.

The production team is looking to hear from people throughout the region who have been affected by parental alienation or prolonged family separation, including:

- formerly alienated adult children

- alienated mothers and fathers

- grandparents

- step-parents

- siblings and extended family members

- supporters of PAPA and its campaigns

PAPA founder Simon Cobb said: “This documentary is about going back to where so much of our journey happened.

“These are communities that supported PAPA when it was still growing, shared our campaigns, attended our events and helped turn something that began as a grassroots movement into an organisation now recognised across the world but more importantly, we want to give a voice to the families behind the statistics.

“We want to hear from parents who have lost years with their children, grandparents who have suddenly disappeared from a grandchild’s life, adult children who now understand what happened to them, and families who have lived through a system that too often failed to resolve conflict before relationships were destroyed.

“These stories deserve to be heard.”

PAPA was founded in 2016 and has grown rapidly through grassroots campaigning, family support, public demonstrations, research, awareness campaigns and advocacy for reform of the family justice system.

Its central message is that children should have the opportunity to enjoy safe, loving and meaningful relationships with both sides of their family wherever it is safe for them to do so.

The organisation says the documentary will examine not only the devastating personal impact of parental alienation, but also the growing public movement demanding greater accountability, earlier intervention and meaningful reform within the family justice system.

PAPA is particularly keen to hear from people living in or around Peterborough, King’s Lynn, Norwich, Wisbech, Spalding, Ely, Cambridge, and Northampton who would be willing to share their experiences on camera.

Those who would like to take part, support the documentary or tell their story are being asked to contact PAPA directly through its website at https://www.papaorg.co.uk/.