Great Photo, Lovely Life

Bill Flickinger, a chiropractor by profession, left behind a devastating trail in the lives of his young patients and his own family. His traumatized family kept silent about his sexual abuse, obligated by their Christian faith to forgive him. But what does forgiveness mean if the perpetrator is not even held accountable, and the hurt inflicted on the victims is never addressed?

After the death of her grandmother Salesta, photojournalist Amanda Mustard embarks on an investigate journey, determined to breach the silence surrounding her grandfather’s offenses while he is still alive. For eight years, she unpacks with her family the complex trauma that has shaped them all—including her grandfather. Using old photos, family videos and testimonies, she unravels a world of secrets to understand how her grandfather continued to evade punishment, and the generational price her family is paying for it now.

Mustard—who co-directed this film with cinematographer Rachel Beth Anderson—courageously puts herself in the center of what turns out to be a long and visibly painful undertaking, jeopardizing more than she ever intended to put on the line.