"Believe Us" - Sexual Assault on College Campuses

In 2006, An Inconvenient Truth premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, sparking worldwide awareness and debate on global warming, and jump starting a new wave of environmental and sustainability activism. In 2012, The Invisible War premiered at Sundance and led to sweeping changes and reforms to the policies that govern the prosecution of sexual assault in the US Military. In 2013, Blackfish premiered at Sundance, and led to an outpouring of outrage over the treatment of orca whales in captivity and significant drops in SeaWorld's ticket sales, revenue, and stock prices. Documentary films can and do have the power to enact powerful social change, and as a board member of the Sundance Institute, I am proud of the Sundance Film Festival for long being a champion of documentary films and for providing such a prestigious platform for these films to be released. Opening night of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival was yesterday, and this year, there's one film in particular that has the potential to catalyze powerful social change, and I just left the theater for the premiere showing.*

The Hunting Ground just screened for the first time an hour ago and is directed and produced by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering respectively, the team behind The Invisible War. This time around, they are tackling the issue of sexual assault on college campuses in the United States, and the shocking statistics surrounding their prevalence and horrific impact on survivors. 1 in 5 women who attend college in the US will be victims of sexual assault, but recent revelations have shown a disturbing pattern of cover ups, denial, and victim-blaming by this country's highest educational institutions. Last year saw a startling rise in complaints, cases, and the number of victims coming forward, and high profile stories such as activist Emma Sulkowicz carrying around her mattress at Columbia ( in the film) until her rapist is expelled from the school and the firestorm of controversy surrounding Rolling Stone's recent coverage has brought the issue to the national forefront. The White House and Congress have gotten involved through task forces and legislation, and a movement of young activists and survivors are standing up, raising their voices, and demanding to be heard. (Both Senator Gillibrand and Boxer were at the screening)

As a mother with a son about to leave for college and a daughter not far behind him, this issue hits home on so many levels. My son attended the screening with me and left saying "mom, this film needs to be shown at every high school in the country. " When we send our kids off to college, we hope that this is the start of a new and exciting chapter in their lives. They are stepping out on their own, often for the first time, and while we will always worry about our kids, it would be nice if we just had to worry about whether or not they'll remember to brush their teeth, and not whether or not a sexual assault will ruin their chances at an education. While the overwhelming majority of the victims of these crimes are young women, recent events have shown that all students of any age are vulnerable, and the systematic toll these crimes are taking on our young people is horrific. Whether you're a parent or not, man or woman, it's time we say enough is enough, and we start supporting these victims and advocates who are standing up for change. When asked "what can we do?" by a member of the audience a victim advocate from the film said this - Believe Us.

While I'm heartened to see so much progress has been made in tackling the issue of campus sexual assault in just the past 12 months alone, we still have a long way to go, and it is my hope that with the release of The Hunting Ground, even more people will become aware of what is going on and join in the fight to find a solution. Documentaries have to power to inspire positive social change, and that is why I continue to support them, both financially as an audience member. They tell the stories that need to be told, even if they are hard to hear, and challenge us to do something about it. The Hunting Ground is no different, and given the current climate, this has the potential to become a very important film. Hopefully, it will follow in the footsteps of An Inconvenient Truth, The Invisible War, and Blackfish, and result in real and lasting change for America's current and future students.

The Official trailer was just released. Watch it here.

*Disclosure: I am an Executive Producer of The Hunting Ground