The combination of increased news coverage of sexual violence and the #MeToo movement has made it easier for survivors of all kinds of abuse to come forward and tell their stories. Their bravery has shed light on a taboo issue that’s incredibly difficult to understand. The effects of sexual abuse manifest in so many ways—in the form of PTSD, depression, anxiety, the inability to have meaningful relationships later in life, and much more.

But even as society is starting to comprehend what the aftermath of sexual abuse looks like, the culture that allows for such violence to occur in the first place steadfastly persists. Rape culture excuses, normalizes and tolerates sexual violence—and it is all around us.

And never before has a film so expertly captured these complicated and nuanced dynamics as Nancy Schwartzman’s Roll Red Roll, which pieces together the assault of a teenage girl at a party in small-town Ohio. You won’t see or hear the victim in this film; what makes Roll Red Roll special and important is that it is focused on—and exposes—the collusion of teen bystanders, teachers, parents and coaches to protect the assailants. It digs into the deep-seated “boys will be boys” culture that’s at the root of sexual assault in America and repeatedly and unflinchingly asks, “Why didn’t anyone stop it?”

Read the full article about Roll Red Roll by Nina Sachdev at Media Impact Funders.