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Show A-6 The Park Record Continued from A-1 Abuse explored in Donald Trump’s victory, and its timing just as Knappenberger was wrapping his film for Sundance, he set those notes aside. The Idaho ads, however, kept nagging at Knappenberger. And, when he dug a little deeper, he decided the story merited its own documentary, one that has become more timely than he could have imagined. In 2005, The Post Register in Idaho Falls published a series of articles about a local Boy Scout who had been sexually abused by a troop leader. The 14-year-old was told by his church leaders not to report the matter, that the perpetrator, who was also a church member, would be handled internally. But when the man was not removed from his post at the Scout camp, the victim went to the police. A subsequent investigation revealed the man had a decade-long rap sheet of multiple child molestation charges — and the church had been well aware of his background. The Post Register’s series unleashed a wave of similar reports from other victims, some involving the same offender. In fact, as the reporter and his editor began to follow up on the issue they discovered an even bigger problem: The Boy Scouts organization and the closely connected Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had gone to great lengths to cover up the abuse. Many in the community were incensed that the newspaper had made the case public. The local magnate who placed the ads that had captured Knappenberger’s attention claimed the articles were part of a personal agenda to smear both the Scouts and the church. According to Knappenberger, the victim’s “strong moral compass” evidenced by his reporting of the abuse made the story even more compelling. “I am so inspired by his courage. ... It was amazing how much he told us and how forthcoming he was with these very painful experiences. I knew he captured the central part of the film.” Knappenberger’s documentary focuses on the victim and on the reporter, both of whom experienced a vicious backlash in a town where the Boy Scouts and the church are considered pillars in the community. In the meantime, while Knappenberger’s crew was busy filming the rugged Idaho landscape where the abuse took place, other abused Scouts across the country had begun coming out of the shadows. A common theme ran through many of those cases: Victims claim they were told to keep their allegations quiet and say officials from both the Scouts and the church told them the cases would be handled internally. Nevertheless, according to Knappenberger, “As we made this film, the number of cases now at 12,000 victims of sexual misconduct, 8,000 perpetrators (all involving Scout leaders), just kept going up. That is what is so alarming.” It’s unclear how many of those cases are also tied to the church. According to Knappenberger’s research, the figures are significantly higher than the number of abuse cases reported within the Catholic Church. That, he says, is because Scout activities often take place outdoors, overnight, in remote places where there is little other adult supervision. “It has been a problem, a big problem, since the beginning of the Boy Scouts, which has been around since 1910,” he said. But, Knappenberger, a former Boy Scout himself, believes the organization may not be around much longer. “I don’t think the Boy Scouts are an organization that deserves to be teaching any kind of moral leadership to kids,” he said. “It comes down to making the right choice, the moral choice, and when you fail that badly, you give up your right to be an arbiter of moral leadership.” The church needs to take responsibility, too, Knappenberger contends. “The Boy Scouts and the Mormon church are deeply connected historically,” he said. “What typically happened was that an abuser in the Boy Scouts would go to the bishop, the bishop would deter- Wed/Thurs/Fri, January 22-24, 2020 mine if that person had repented. If so, then they could go back into the position they were in and there was no need to go to the law or even to inform people around them about what the person had done.” The film, which debuts in Sundance’s documentary shorts program, comes as the church and the Boy Scouts are unwinding their 110-year relationship. The divorce became official on Dec. 31, and the church plans to launch its own youth program this year. According to a joint statement from both organizations, it is an amicable separation. The statement, however, does not mention the nationwide allegations of child abuse or debates between the two organizations about the Boy Scouts’ recent decision to allow gay leaders. In a separate but related issue, Knappenberger’s film may add some gravitas to a bill being introduced in the current session of Utah Legislature. H.B. 90 would require members of the clergy to report confessions of child abuse, even in the context of a religious setting. Currently, state law allows bishops and priests to claim clergy privilege as an Continued from A-1 Sundance stars STARTING @ $35/SF INSTALLED (3CM THICKNESS) Free UNDERMOUNT STAINLESS STEEL KITCHEN SINK with minimum purchase of 50 sqft. FOR A FREE ESTIMATE CALL: SUE LIPKE 435.901.1722 801.487.8663 VISIT OUR SHOWROOM AT 3267 SOUTH 300 WEST (I-15 EXIT 303) Roof Top Snow Removal Lucie Guillemot, a first-time volunteer Lucie Guillemot comes to the festival from Paris. “I’ve always wanted to work with the Sundance Film Festival, and so you can say I’m very excited, to say the least,” Guillemot said during a phone call two weeks ago. “I’ve never event attended the festival before, so this is one of my dreams that is coming true.” Guillemot’s job will be as a Sundance Industry Office theater operations representative. She will serve as an onsite liaison at film screenings. Her duties will be to provide support for sales agents at theaters, and ensure that theater operations run smoothly and fairly. Guillemot will also work with theater teams to find solutions to problems such as viewers arriving late to screenings and coordinate car and driving schedules for important guests when needed. The new volunteer, whose childhood prize possession is a poster of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival comedy/drama “Little Miss Sunshine,” was surprised to be selected as a volunteer this year. “I sent in my request in September, and then I received a couple of emails telling me not to give up even though they had received many applications,” she said. “I didn’t think it would ever workout, but someone from the festival contacted me directly to say there was a position open. They told me if I answered right away, I would get it. So I did.” Guillemot learned about volunteering while working as a curator for the New York City Independent Film Festival. The job requires her to watch films in Paris, then fly to New York every May when the festival is held. “One of our volunteers told me he also volunteers at the Sundance Film Festival, and that I should apply,” she said. “I wasn’t aware that I could just send in a volunteer request in French, but he told me I could. So I decided to try.” Building the Right Working Environment Membership • Day Use • Amenities Please contact Assemble, for more information and pricing. 435-709-7359 | AssemblePark City.com COURTESY OF LUCIE GUILLEMOT Lucie Guillemot, a first-time Sundance Film Festival volunteer, is traveling from Paris to serve as a liaison between the Sundance Industry Office and other festival staffers. The film festival bug bit Guillemot in 2013, when she volunteered at the Seattle International Film Festival as part of a studyabroad program. “I was studying political science, which in French means more than just politics,” she said. “In my third year, a student can do either an internship or attend a university for the study abroad. I wanted to have a professional experience. So I applied to the film festival and it was amazing.” Guillemot, who is also a filmmaker, has been interested in film since she was a child. “When I was 8 I took theater classes, and realized how fun it was to act, but more fun to direct,” she said. “I saw what my teacher did and realized I wanted to do that.” Guillemot got her first camera when she was 11, and would film anything she could. “I wanted to work in cinema, and I can say that my whole life surrounds around film,” she said. ‘So I’m looking forward to this new adventure.” Jeri Smith, veteran volunteer Smith, who lives in Houston, has been a Sundance Institute summer labs volunteer for more than 30 years, and a Sundance Film Festival volunteer for 15. Throughout her volunteer career she has worked in various stations, including the festival box office, theater venues and as a jury assistant. For the past few years, she has worked at the alumni desk, which serves the festival’s returning filmmakers. “People are automatically assigned to you to help you maneuver through the festival if you are a first-time director,” she said. “So when you come back the next year, the alumni desk fills in that duty.” Smith, an actress and acting coach who taught theater and acting in film, ventured into volun- Continued from A-5 Legend explored the movie couldn’t have been better for Nguyen. The people who knew Lee personally are getting older, which made it imperative for Nguyen to make the film as soon as possible. teering while on summer vacation at the Sundance Resort. “I happened to be there for a reading during the directors lab, and I’ve been going there ever since,” she said. Smith began volunteering at the film festival after gentle prodding from her lab colleagues. “They kept telling me I should come back during the winter, but I was always teaching or doing a show,” she said. “Once I retired from fulltime teaching I was able to finally do it.” While Sundance offers training and a mentorship program for new volunteers, most of the training during the festival is done on “Church and the Fourth Estate,” an entry in the Sundance Film Festival’s Documentary Shorts program, is set to screen at the following times and locations: • Sunday, Jan. 26, noon, Temple Theatre • Monday, Jan. 27, 9:30 p.m., Redstone Cinema 1 • Thursday, Jan. 30, noon, Park Avenue Theatre • Saturday, Feb. 1, 9 p.m., Tower Theatre, Salt Lake City exemption from the mandatory reporting required of educators and doctors. With a critical eye, “Church and the Fourth Estate” takes viewers to the center of an unfolding controversy and underscores the media’s role in shedding light on the truth. the job, Smith said. “You learn how to do things as you go along,” she said. “At the alumni desk, we usually have two volunteers who know what to do, and during the busy times there is a third volunteer we usually get to teach.” Smith enjoys working at the alumni desk, because she runs into old friends from the summer labs who happen to be filmmakers. “I also get to see the films they have made,” she said. “Since I work in casting at the labs, I can also get reacquainted with the actors.” Through the festival, Smith has made strong friends from all around the country over the years. “While we keep in touch through social media, the best thing is being able to sit around a fire and catch up with a glass of wine every year,” she said. The biggest challenge for being a volunteer is dealing with lack of sleep. “We work long hours that start at 8 in the morning,” she said. “When our shifts are done, we’ll get to go see some films and get together afterwards for a glass of wine. Then we’ll have to be back at our posts at 8 a.m. again the next morning. So I, like many of my fellow volunteers, end up going home and sleeping after the 10 days are over.” Still, Smith said there isn’t anything better than helping people from all over the world learn to appreciate independent film. “We have the opportunity to have these conversations about the films people have seen or the actors they have met,” she said. “It’s a remarkable atmosphere.” COURTESY OF JERI SMITH Jeri Smith, of Houston, is a longtime Sundance volunteer. She has volunteered for 30 years at the Sundance Institute summer director’s lab and is marking her 15th year at the film festival. He credits his team for going through old footage to tell the story. He wanted to build an immersive world that would make viewers feel as if they’re living in a story, one in which they’re seeing Lee in the present tense, brought back to life, rather than the legendary figure audiences have come to know. “There are so many intimate stories about him as a person that people don’t know compared to the legend, the mythical martial artist,” Nguyen said. “That’s the story my team and I wanted to show. It was difficult because back then, people didn’t have iPhones shooting everything. Finding the archival films and bringing those to new life with the relative interviews. ... Building that story from the past was the goal.” Nguyen said he found success with the film because of the questions he asked to those who knew Lee. For decades, the same people have been asked the same questions about Lee — but Nguyen wanted to dig deeper. His questions were more personal in nature and enticed the interviewees to open up and help show off a different side of Lee that has never been portrayed before. |