Dissecting rape culture: A screening & discussion of Roll Red Roll

As part of our collaborative film series, Media Impact Funders and Philanthropy New York invite you to a special screening and discussion of the award-winning film Roll Red Roll, which intensely examines rape culture in America through the lens of an assault on a teenage girl in small-town Ohio.

After the screening, we’ll engage in a conversation about the various ways the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors are trying to change the culture around sexual assault by shifting the narrative from victim-blaming to one of empowering boys and men to be accountable for their actions.

Roll Red Roll is a true-crime thriller that digs into the deep-seated and social media-fueled “boys will be boys” culture at the root of high school sexual assault in America. At a party in small-town Steubenville, Ohio, a teenage girl was assaulted by members of the high school football team. What transpired would garner national attention and result in the sentencing of two key offenders. But it was the disturbing social media evidence uncovered by crime blogger Alexandria Goddard that provoked the most powerful questions about the collusion of teen bystanders, teachers, parents and coaches to protect the assailants and discredit the victim.

As it painstakingly reconstructs the night of the crime and its aftermath, Roll Red Roll uncovers the ingrained rape culture at the heart of the incident, acting as a cautionary tale about what can happen when teenage social media bullying runs rampant and adults look the other way. The film unflinchingly asks: “Why didn’t anyone stop it?”

Read the Q&A between MIF Communications Director Nina Sachdev and Nancy Schwartzman, the filmmaker, and Eliza Licht, the film’s impact producer, on the film’s impact campaign.

Explore:

• The role funders can play in shifting the narrative and changing the culture around violence against women and girls
• How to create film campaigns that mirror the fundamentals of issue campaigning
• The role independent filmmakers play in fostering greater understanding of the human condition

Presenters:

• Eliza Licht, Impact Producer and Engagement Strategist, Roll Red Roll
• Ted Bunch, Co-founder, A CALL TO MEN
• Nancy Schwartzman, Director/Producer, Roll Red Roll
• Joe Voeller (moderator), Director of Communications, NoVo Foundation

Watch the trailer for Roll Red Roll: