UTAH
The Spectrum
Kevin Jenkins, kevin@thespectrum.com September 12, 2015
Ben Thomas, a former work manager for Hildale’s Phaze Concrete, watched with some discomfort Friday night as he was projected on the big screen at Springdale’s O.C. Tanner Amphitheater during the DOCUTAH film festival’s premiere showing of “Prophet’s Prey,” a documentary on the local polygamist community.
“I thought it went really well. … It was really well done,” Thomas said prior to being invited onstage at the film’s close for a question and answer panel.
“But it was really hard to watch,” he said. “My brother-in-law runs (Phaze) now – as far as I know. They feel like I threw them under the bus” by deciding to appear in the documentary.
A few hundred people made the trek to the outdoor amphitheater on the doorstep of Zion National Park to see the insiders-on-the-outside accounts of life under Warren Jeffs, the prophet of the film’s name. DOCUTAH officials estimated about 800 more filled Dixie State University’s Cox Auditorium nearly to capacity Saturday for the film festival’s final-day showing.
Among those viewing the film for the first time were a number of the film’s participants, such as Thomas. Thomas’ role included talking about how he monitored the contractor’s large commercial concrete jobs from Seattle to New Mexico and helped funnel money to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints under the direction of Jeffs’ religious hierarchy.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.