ESPONDA PRODUCTIONS LLC
Esponda Productions
c/o Henry Eshelman
Managing Director
Platform Media Group
1111 North Las Palmas Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Motion Picture Association of America Christopher J. Dodd
Chairman and CEO
1600 Eye Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear Chairman Dodd,
It was with great disappointment, that I learned that a film which I produced, financed in totality, and which was directed by Amy Berg, An Open Secret, was given a R rating by the MPAA.
As you may be aware, this film is a cautionary tale about the sexual abuse of children. Warning children about the dangers of predatory sexual offenders, educating them about the “grooming” techniques used by those predators, and shattering the widely held socio-economic stereotypes about potential victims of child sex abuse, are a few of the key reasons why we created An Open Secret. One crucial way for our society to combat this scourge upon humanity of child sex abuse, is by doing a better job at preparing our children to identify, resist, and report such people. Film is an especially important medium for communicating those critical messages, especially to young people.
The MPAA justified its rating due to “Some descriptions of sexual abuse”. Substantially all of the descriptions described by survivors of child sex abuse in An Open Secret, utilize extremely bland language, in particular “doing it” or “it”, as the sole specific and descriptive reference. It is quite difficult to understand how such descriptions would qualify for an R rating, utilizing either common-sense analysis, or the MPAA’s own ratings precedents.
When putting together this film, we were very careful with language, and intentionally avoided going into detail about sexual content. Reviews of An Open Secret by respected critics agree. Below, please find a small sample:
The Hollywood Reporter review leads with “Bottom Line: A persuasive but not salacious look at the abuse of minors.” This summary appears in their review’s most prominent position, just after the title.
“should be required viewing for any parents thinking of sending their son or daughter off to Hollywood” – Film Journal International, Chris Barsanti
“praiseworthy caution” – The Hollywood Reporter, John DeFore
“nonsensationalist expose” “advances on eggshells” – Variety, Ronnie Schaub
Finally, The Guardian’s 2014 Pulitzer prize winning Benjamin Lee described An Open Secret as “an important piece of journalism, and as it states at the beginning, all profits are being given to a foundation set up to ensure stricter regulations in film, so the focus always remains on the greater good.”
Thus, we were extremely disappointed to find our film – which discusses these issues maturely and carefully – thrown into the same category as films which display gratuitous sex and violence. I am especially disappointed to think that millions of Americans, both young and old, may be misled by this rating, and conclude that the content of An Open Secret is not appropriate for them – when it most certainly is.
With this letter, I am simply making a respectful, formal request – for you to personally view An Open Secret, and review this decision. We believe that the facts overwhelmingly support reversing this decision, and awarding An Open Secret the rating which we feel strongly that it deserves, PG-13.
This would allow teens to watch the film, with the appropriate parental cautions, and receive the
information to resist those who would seek to harm them.
If just one single teen, currently suffering as a victim of sexual abuse, is inspired by the courage of the survivors portrayed in An Open Secret, hears our message as described by the film’s tagline “Be Courageous. Report It. Life Gets Better.”, finds their inner strength, and is able to escape their current abuse situation, because of your decision, wouldn’t that make your time spent personally reviewing the film, and its rating, all worthwhile?
Sincerely,
Gabe Hoffman
Producer, An Open Secret
cc:
Ms. Joan Graves
Mr. Randy Slaughter