the Oscar-shortlisted, Netflix-distributed film that combines staging and narrative-making with the real-time processing of trauma. As children, all six of these men suffered sexual abuse from Catholic priests. Most of those priests retained their posts even after the accusations against them went public. The men are still suffering not only from the original assaults, but from the Catholic Church’s independent review process, which has allowed the institution to avoid accountability.
was largely experimental, with Phinney providing support for their filmmaking process rather than conducting actual therapy sessions. Still, Greene had an answer for Eldred. “He assured me that what we were creating was something unique and special that he was sure would change not just my life or the other men’s, but would speak to many other people who were carrying their own secret trauma,” Eldred says. “He was right, and I was never so glad to be wrong.
“I mean, it was horrible,” Greene tells me. “I remember that [confrontation] was at [lawyer] Rebecca [Randles]’s office. And this speaks to the role Rebecca played, because not only did she cast the film, not only did she approve the film—meaning she vetted us before we even got started—but in this case, she was effectively my therapist. I walked into the kitchen and I was just like, ‘I’m done. I can’t risk this anymore.