Q&A: The Man Making the Military Talk About Rape

Documentary films generally aren’t known for dominating the annual Oscar-season buzz, but last week one nominee for best feature documentary was name-checked on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

“I don’t know whether you’ve seen an excellent documentary called The Invisible War ... ” Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal mused during Secretary of Defense hopeful Chuck Hagel’s Senate confirmation hearing.

“Yes,” Hagel interrupted him to reply, scoring an easy point in an otherwise grueling hearing. Ever since The Invisible War premiered at Sundance in 2012 — where it won the festival’s Audience Award — its title has become shorthand for the epidemic of sexual assault within the military.

“Did you see that?” director Kirby Dick asked the Cut a few days after Hagel’s hearing. One half of The Invisible War team, with producer Amy Ziering (pictured), Dick explained, “Every time attention is paid to this film, things happen. Another senator gets involved.”

Via: Q&A: The Man Making the Military Talk About Rape