Inside the Secretive Gloriavale Christian Community

Like many New Zealanders, Fergus Grady knew about the disturbing stories that were coming out of the Gloriavale Christian Community. This secretive group, located in one of the most isolated parts of the country, has long made headlines there, with numerous allegations of abuse and exploitation surfacing in recent years.

But when Grady started to make a documentary about Gloriavale, he realised how little he actually knew.

“I didn’t fully comprehend how brainwashed and how indoctrinated they were. [They were] in another world,” he tells ABC RN’s The Drawing Room.

“If they were born in the community, they had no concept of what was happening outside of the gates of the property, let alone any news or current affairs in the world.”

The new film, called Gloriavale, co-directed by Grady and Noel Smyth, looks at life inside this closed community and what happens to those who leave or are forced out.

Original article by Nick Baker and Sky Kirkham, ABC News, November 2, 2022.