Episode 112: Split: A Film for Kids of Divorce (and their Parents) with Ellen Bruno
The Divorce Survival Guide Podcast
Kate Anthony
4.4 • 574 Ratings
🗓️ 1 April 2021
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, I'm sharing the conversation I had with Ellen Bruno about her film, Split. Split is an incredible film for kids of divorce and their parents. It is simple in its presentation, but poignant.
Split is a deeply personal film that explores the effects of divorce on children, from the child's perspective. The movie allows children to speak the powerful truth of what is on their minds and in their hearts.
Show Highlights
- What inspired Ellen to create a child-centered film about divorce. (5:53)
- How the film can be used as a tool for children and co-parents alike. (12:11)
- Mediators, family advisors, and court systems are also utilizing the film as a resource. Viewing it before mediation sessions help turn parents' attention away from their anger and experiences, and instead towards their children, instead. (19:03)
- The production of Split 2 and what Ellen learned as she revisited 11 of the 12 children she interviewed originally. (25:07)
Learn More About Ellen:
Ellen Bruno is an award-winning documentary filmmaker based in San Francisco.
With a background in international relief work, Ellen's films have focused on issues at the forefront of human rights, including sex trafficking in Burma, political prisoners in Tibet, the social alienation of people with leprosy, and genocide in Cambodia.
Ellen earned an MA in Film at Stanford University. She is a recipient of Guggenheim and Rockefeller Fellowships, a Goldie Award for Outstanding Artists, an Alpert Award for the Arts, an Anonymous Was A Woman Award for the Arts, and was an Artist-in-Residence at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Ellen serves on the board of the International Buddhist Film Festival, the Pacific Pioneer Fund, and Ethical Traveler.
Resources & Links:
Split's website
Split on Facebook
The Thrive Fund
TODAY'S EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY:
THE CENTER FOR DIVORCE EDUCATION
The Center for Divorce Education is an organization that provides separated parents with the tools and techniques necessary to navigate the difficult task of being a co-parent.
They currently offer an online parenting class called Children in Between. Anyone who is co-parenting can benefit from the class. Visit the link above to learn more.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Divorce Survival Guide podcast, where we have open and honest conversations about co-parenting, separation, divorce, and the hardest question of all, should you stay or should you go. |
| 0:17.7 | I'm Kate Anthony, your divorce survival guide, and I'm here to help you navigate some of |
| 0:23.3 | the roughest waters you've ever swum in and answer some of your toughest questions. I've been to |
| 0:29.1 | hell and back, and now it's my mission in life to help you get to the other side of this process |
| 0:35.1 | with your sanity and your heart intact. |
| 0:46.7 | Hey, everyone. Welcome back. I have another movie for you to watch this week. This week, |
| 0:53.1 | we are talking to Ellen Bruno. Ellen is an |
| 0:59.0 | award-winning filmmaker. She's a background on international relief work. And her films have |
| 1:05.8 | focused on issues at the forefront of human rights, including sex trafficking in Burma, political prisoners |
| 1:12.1 | in Tibet, the social alienation of people with leprosy and genocide in Cambodia. |
| 1:18.4 | The film that we are talking about today is called Split, and it is such an incredible film. |
| 1:28.9 | And it's a film for kids of divorce and their parents. |
| 1:32.9 | It's a deeply personal film that explores the effects of divorce on children. |
| 1:39.0 | The film features 12 children from 6 to 12 who explore the often frightening and always life-altering separation |
| 1:47.6 | of their parents. And it gives us the children's perspective on divorce. There are no adults, |
| 1:53.5 | no experts, there's just kids speaking the powerful truth of what is on their minds and in their |
| 2:00.7 | hearts. Their wisdom, |
| 2:02.9 | candor, and humor will give courage to other children and encourage parents to make better |
| 2:08.9 | choices as they move through divorce. That's actually from their website. And I can't tell you |
| 2:14.2 | how much I agree with this. It can be hard to watch at times. And I think that |
| 2:19.3 | one of the, one of the top recommendations is that you watch it before you watch it with your |
| 2:24.1 | kids, right? You know how much I love Christina McGee. She is one of the, she's one of the producers, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Kate Anthony, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Kate Anthony and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.