It has screened at more than 700 universities, high schools, community centres and government offices across the US, igniting long-silenced debate and policy change, school by school. The film has been creating awareness, influencing policy and changing lives. The end result of these relentless and unjustified attacks is to discourage women and men from reporting sexual assault, thereby ensuring the problem continues. Like climate change deniers, there is an industry of rape deniers, internet trolls, media columnists and politicians, who, despite decades of statistics proving how prevalent rape is, deny that it is a problem and disparage survivors who come forward. There is a deep-seated denial in the US, and around the world, about the frequency of sexual assault throughout society. To convey that, we undertook one of the most extensive investigations ever into college sexual assault, and began covering dozens of developing cases at campuses around the country.
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We were disturbed that colleges and universities, normally considered places where free speech is protected and encouraged, were often retaliating against those within the institutions who spoke out about sexual assault on their campus.Īlso, we wanted to show that the problem wasn’t confined to a few “rape” schools, but that it was happening at thousands of schools. We were even more surprised at the level of fear among faculty – many were aware of the prevalence of assault on their campus but were afraid to speak up for fear of reprisals. We were surprised by how difficult it was to find high-level administrators to talk on camera. We undertook one of the most extensive investigations ever into college sexual assault This was especially true in The Hunting Ground, where we began documenting the rise of a new student movement within months of its inception, covering our subjects from being lone voices at their university to being advisers to Congress and the White House. If you’re following developments in real time you have to be very nimble and ready for unexpected events and the shifting personal experiences of your film subjects. It’s important if you make investigative films that your research is solid and comprehensive, and to convey that information cogently to the public. We quickly put aside our other film and began working on this one – sensing the topic was so explosive that we could create a powerful and emotional cinematic experience that would resonate with audiences. We started investigating and found that assault on college campuses was pervasive, routinely covered up by colleges and universities, and the public was blithely unaware of the problem. While there, women and men who had been assaulted in college came up and implored us to make a film about their experience. We had actually begun working on an entirely different film, and were continuing to screen our previous film, The Invisible War – about rape in the military – on college campuses. As the cases mount and institutional reps succeed best by playing dumb, The Hunting Ground becomes a energizing call to action, a potent provocation that’s been too long coming.Why did you decide to make The Hunting Ground? Florida State University’s Erica Kinsman relates her allegations against Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, which created a firestorm of controversy and blame-the-victim rhetoric.
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Andrea Pino and Annie Clark recount their own assaults, but rally to form an organization of student activists who learn how to file civil complaints when schools turn their backs. It’s the rape survivors, women and some men, who tell their wrenching stories direct to camera. Why should they? The system, especially for athletes, is weighted heavily in their favor. Few of the accused step forward to defend themselves on camera.
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This conspiracy of silence is at the core of The Hunting Ground. Rape statistics are bad advertising for enrollment, even worse as incentives for alumni donations, educational grants and funding sports programs.
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It’s all good news, which is the way institutions of higher learning like to keep it. The film begins with a montage of students screaming with joy as they receive notice of acceptance at their favored colleges. Dick doesn’t get fancy or show-offy in technique, preferring instead to marshal the facts of this rape epidemic to which outrage seems to be the only sane reaction. He also addresses the systemic reasons that colleges and universities often fail to act, even when rape victims come forward looking and often begging for justice. As a companion piece to The Invisible War, his documentary on sexual abuse in the military, filmmaker Kirby Dick uses The Hunting Ground to take on the incendiary topic of rape on campus.