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SALT LAKE CITY — The documentary "Prophet's Prey" begins in the same place Warren Jeffs first began to gain control over the FLDS faithful — the Alta Academy in Salt Lake City.
Academy Award nominated director Amy Berg received full access to the building and to the students who attend class there.
"This story needs to have a lot of attention because there are women who need help," Berg said. "There are children who need help."
Berg enlisted the help of Jon Krakauer, author of the controversial book, "Under the Banner of Heaven."
"Last fall I got a call; they said, 'We're filming actively, and we're going to try and get in Sundance,'" Krakauer said. "I said, 'Really? That's coming right up.'"
When Jeffs landed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, Krakauer and private investigators joined in the search for Jeffs.
"We would do our own investigations, finding hideouts of Warren's and finding victims," Krakauer said.
Throughout the documentary, audio recordings of Jeffs' instructions to his followers, particularly female members, set the tone.
"Learn to do your hair right," Jeffs says in one recording. "Some of you ladies are so far distant from me you don't even comprehend what oneness is."
When Jeffs landed in prison, members of law enforcement described his behavior behind bars.
I feel like the people of the state of Utah need to know what's going on in their backyard, and hopefully promote some action.
–Amy Berg, "Prophet's Prey" director
"He would just sit there and stare in the mirror," said one member of the Texas law enforcement agency where Jeffs is detained. "He would stare at himself for 30 or 45 minutes, or he would just freeze in the middle of the room, sometimes for up to an hour."
Berg said the Sundance Film Festival is the perfect place for people to see her film: "I feel like the people of the state of Utah need to know what's going on in their backyard, and hopefully promote some action," she said.
Like all films at the festival, "Prophet's Prey" is not rated, and the content may be disturbing to some. There are still five more showings of the documentary during the Sundance Film Festival.
