See No Evil S1E1: Episode 1

Overview

The story begins in the 1980s, in the quintessential English town of Winchester. Smyth, a young, high-flying barrister, has started offering discipleship to young Christians at Winchester College, the local elite boarding school. Smyth builds intimate relationships with these teenagers, inviting them to Sunday lunches and parties at his family home. Soon, he has introduced them to a secret and brutal regime; the boys endure ritualistic cane-beatings in Smyth's garden shed, which Smyth justified as spiritual discipline necessary to relieve them of their sins. The film explores who knew about Smyth's actions, and whether or not they were complicit, or victims; the painstaking work of those trying to expose Smyth, and the role of senior Church officials in allowing him to leave the country and continue his teachings in Zimbabwe. The two-part series investigates how Smyth weaponised faith, its impact on others and the reasons why they have decided to speak out now.