This interview was a huge leadway for Derek and I. Recently, we have spoken about going down there to delve more into this issue. Because of the controversy over the tuttle causeway, they have started a “camp” for sex offendets. We were looking into the “better” ways this is helping us. I feel its not. But until I met Derek, I felt like fighting this cause was useless. Then he told me about this site and I tend to read all the articles. Sometimes unsure of how to respond because it makes me sick, the way we are treated

Highly Helen,

Thank you for sharing your insight from your personal contact with David. I feel like I have a much better sense of the film. It sounds like this would be the perfect film for Independent Movie Theaters. Better yet, it would be nice if HBO picked it up. I really hope to see it!

I already wrote a long comment below, but I will add one thing: There are no monsters in this film, and also there are no heroes. And director David Feige does not sit in judgment of anyone, nor does he advocate for or against anything. But he does crack open the mass of misinformation and misunderstanding that surrounds this issue and then intricately examines the shards. For more: http://wp.me/p6TF51-8R

I saw the film at Tribeca and did an extensive interview with the director and editor/writer, posted at my blog http://wp.me/p6TF51-8R. Unfortunately the film has not yet been picked up for either theatrical or broadcast distribution. I suspect that, because it is SO well made, it will find a home sooner rather than later, but as the title suggests, the subject matter is taboo and deeply personal, as well as extremely complex, which will make finding a mainstream audience difficult. In my interview with him, David Feige said “I made this film for exactly the reasons that nobody would fund it.”

He also says “There are lots of people who are willing to take on certain issues – innocence, the death penalty, the drug war. All of these things already have a built in constituency and already have a lot of people who are willing to write and talk and make movies about them. In a way, they are the low-hanging fruit of the criminal justice reform discussion. This is not.” But Feige was committed to honestly exploring the most difficult and complex questions, and I think this film does an impressive job.

So, no; this is not mostly sympathetic to sex-crime victims. It is equally sympathetic (sensitive is a better word) to ALL people in the film and all sides of the issue, and opposing views are represented with meticulous accuracy and fairness. But it is not an attack film. It is not a polemic. It is a film that asks profound questions about what it means to be human. The objective of the film is not to take down Ron Book; the subject is much bigger than just one man. But if you watch the film, it definitely takes the viewer on a journey — moving from the conventional to the unexpected, and it does challenge assumptions and shed new light. And it ultimately packs a powerful punch. I personally found it to be highly unsettling, and it made me interested in the subject overall. And besides inspiring me to write about it, I keep talking about it, because the film makes the subject COMPELLING — not offensive.

So don’t be put off by a few clips taken out of context. The film deserves watching — by both victims and perpetrators (and yes, the film understands the difficulty in labeling which is which), and so will audiences, if they ever get a chance to see this courageous film.

http://helenhighly.com/549-2/

Sounds like someone learned some lessons from the Canon City High School deal in Canon City, CO where kids were doing similar, but the DA was head huntin’ for charges.