When we started making our first film about sexual assault, The Invisible War, we were told time and again not to bother.
The world, they said, had other interests and priorities—and sexual assault was not one of them.
We are gratified and even somewhat astonished to write that now, two films and six years later, this issue continually makes headlines and is a topic of import and concern—not only here in the US, but around the globe.
The world is very much listening to the voices of survivors and, for the first time in our lifetimes, the blame for these crimes is rightfully shifting from the victim to the perpetrator.
And all this has happened, in no small part, because of you.
With your help and activism, The Hunting Ground has been screened thousands of times on campuses and at community centers around the country, and was viewed by millions on CNN and Netflix. We stood together and wept when Lady Gaga sang alongside 50 survivors our Oscar nominated song at the Academy Awards.
The world was again galvanized when a Stanford survivor’s letter, written to her attacker, went public, becoming the most widely read news article in BuzzFeed’s history. Think about it—a letter by an assault survivor garnering over 18 million views, generating thousands of news articles, and being read by news anchors, in Congress, and by the Vice President of the United States.
It is not often we as a culture are privileged to be part of history in the making—to be part of the change we want to see in the world.
You are reading this because you decided to look at our darker nature and say we can and must do better—and we will. You decided to look centuries of injustice in the eye, stare it down and say no more, and it actually, miraculously, brilliantly worked
We are handing over this campaign to It’s On Us, our advocacy partners in the White House. They are committed to continuing what all of us started—and they have the power and infrastructure to help the movement continue to build and grow across campuses and around the country. And while we will still be working with Its On Us and their campaign, it’s time to get back to what we do best—making films about vital social issues that people say no one is interested in.
Moving forward, our partners at It’s On Us are taking over the social activism work of The Hunting Ground and bringing our followers into their own community.
We encourage all of you to visit It’s On Us and, if you haven’t already, take the pledge:
The fight is far from over, but by joining forces we will win.
Thanks as always for your support and your energy.
– Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick