The Hunting Ground

For other uses, see Hunting Ground (disambiguation).

The Hunting Ground
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKirby Dick
Written byKirby Dick
Produced byAmy Ziering
CinematographyAaron Kopp
Thaddeus Wadleigh
Edited byDouglas Blush
Derek Boonstra
Kim Roberts
Music byMiriam Cutler
Distributed byRADiUS-TWC
Release dates
  • January 23, 2015 (2015-01-23) (Sundance Film Festival)
  • February 27, 2015 (2015-02-27) (United States)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$405,917[1]

The Hunting Ground is a 2015 American documentary film about the incidence of sexual assault on college campuses in the United States and the reported failure of college administrations to deal with it adequately. Written and directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering, it premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released on February 27, 2015,[2] an edited version aired on CNN on November 22, 2015,[3][4] and was released on DVD the week of December 1, 2015.[5] It was released on Netflix in March 2016.[6] Lady Gaga recorded an original song, "Til It Happens to You," for the film, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.[7]

The documentary focuses on Annie E. Clark and Andrea Pino,[8] two former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students who filed a Title IX complaint against UNC in response to their rapes while enrolled.[9] The use of Title IX in campus sexual assault cases became a model for universities across the country.[10][11]

Critics of the film, including writer Emily Yoffe and several Harvard Law School professors, have questioned The Hunting Ground's accuracy and objectivity (Harvard was one of the institutions criticized for minimizing the issue of sexual assault and protecting an alleged perpetrator).[12][13][14] Among the issues raised by critics are the film's portrayal of one man as a rapist, while not disclosing that the university and its police had found him not responsible for the alleged sexual assault[12][13] and for the use of controversial statistics.[15] The filmmakers have defended the film.[4][16][17][18]

  1. ^ "The Hunting Ground". Box Office Mojo. June 18, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  2. ^ Setoodeh, Ramin (May 1, 2015). "Campus Rape Doc 'The Hunting Ground' Premieres at Sundance". Variety. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  3. ^ Barnes, Brooks (January 25, 2015). "An Unblinking Look at Sexual Assaults on Campus". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Daunt, Tina (November 17, 2015). "CNN Defends Campus Rape Movie That Its College Critics Call "Inaccurate," "Misleading"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  5. ^ "New to DVD: Week of Dec. 1". Visalia Times-Delta. Gannett Company. November 30, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  6. ^ Prigge, Matt (March 28, 2016). "New on Netflix: The campus rape doc 'The Hunting Ground'”. Metro U.S. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  7. ^ Murphy, Shaunna (January 26, 2015). "Here's How Lady Gaga's Song About Sexual Assault Ended Up At Sundance". MTV. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Keslassy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Richard Pérez-Peña (March 7, 2013). "Students Initiate Inquiry Into Harassment Reports". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  10. ^ Johnson, Rebecca (October 9, 2016). "Campus Sexual Assault: Annie E. Clark and Andrea Pino Are Fighting Back—And Shaping the National Debate". Vogue. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  11. ^ Sneed, Tierney (February 27, 2014). "'The Hunting Ground' Subjects Defend Title IX Campaign". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Yoffe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference HLS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Taylor-NR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Singal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Duehren-12-04 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dick-Ziering-11-22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Fact check: The Hunting Ground and Wikipedia". The Hunting Ground Film. November 25, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.