AKA:
The Cult of Jackie
Synopsis:
This documentary by acclaimed director Vanessa Engle tells
the extraordinary story of a strange cult, which came to light in 2013
when a sensational news story broke about three women emerging from a
small flat in
Brixton in south London after decades in captivity. Tracing the group
back to its roots in the 1970s, the film describes how its leader
Aravindan Balakrishnan, a student of Indian origin, believed in an
international communist revolution and created a tiny political sect
that followed the teachings of China's Chairman Mao.
The
film features exclusive interviews with two of the women who escaped -
Aisha Wahab, a 72-year-old Malaysian woman who was part of
Balakrishnan's group for 40 years, and Katy Morgan-Davies,
Balakrishnan's daughter, who was born and raised in captivity. The film
documents how this left-wing collective evolved into a bizarre
pseudo-religious cult, where members were controlled, threatened and
brainwashed so that they were too terrified to leave.
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