FILM FESTIVAL-VENICE/SPOTLIGHT Venice film puts spotlight on Boston's paedophile priests

Record ID: 141666

  • Title: FILM FESTIVAL-VENICE/SPOTLIGHT Venice film puts spotlight on Boston's paedophile priests
  • Date: 3rd September 2015
  • Summary: VENICE, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 2, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR STANLEY TUCCI SAYING: "I think people can't look at this as a condemnation of Catholicism but really more as a condemnation of those who abused the tenets of Catholicism and of Christianity. I hope that people see it that way because the Catholic Church has so many wonderful aspects to it."
  • Embargoed: 18th September 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA2I8WB2AQ5JJGJ6LODRBW9WMD1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: "Spotlight" starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams as reporters working on the Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation of paedophile Roman Catholic priests deals with just a fraction on sexual predation in the Church, its director says.
    Reports of sexual misconduct by the late British entertainer Jimmy Savile and other high profile cases are an indication of the global scope of the problem, and of failures to deal with it, Tom McCarthy said before his film's screening on Thursday (September 3) at the Venice Film Festival.
    "We know people have done things wrong and we don't, as a society, we don't stand up to them. It takes years and years and years and the question is why? Why does it take so long? What it is about the power of institutions or the powers of particular persons to repress the truth? And if not journalists to shine light on this, then who? So I think those things are all tied together and I find them really compelling and I couldn't imagine a better time to tell the story than right now," McCarthy said in an interview on the eve of the film's world premiere.
    The Globe's Spotlight team exposed the attacks over a period of decades by priests in the Boston archdiocese who molested young boys but instead of being reported to the police were given counselling and moved to a different parish. The expose led to the resignation of Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law in 2002.
    The film for the most part focuses on how the Globe's team tracked down and confronted some of the offending priests.
    They interviewed victims who were still distraught and disturbed decades later, and established that the Roman Catholic Church had a policy of paying victims to remain silent, and not rock the boat by making their allegations public.
    McCarthy said that despite making some concessions to legal authorities by eventually turning over church records, he doubted the Church had fundamentally reformed.
    "There are still cases in the Church, right? The new pope just appointed a tribunal with Cardinal O'Malley out of Boston to oversee these cases but then SNAP (a victims' group) and all these different organisations are saying it's not enough, you've appointed an in-house tribunal, we are not going to get justice from that. Look, I still believe in the Catholic Church, I believe in the good they can do but they are an institution that has to sort of take responsibility for the crimes they've committed against their parishioners and their constituency and own it and they are not yet. Look, if you talk to any survivors or family members of victims, they want recognition. They want the Church to stand up and own this and they haven't yet so I think there is still a fight to be made there," McCarthy said.
    Ruffalo said he hoped the film would help to build pressure on the Church to undertake further reforms.
    " Many people left the Catholic faith because of a lot of this and it suffered but I feel like maybe now we can have a discussion with the pope that's in, that we have now and maybe it could start doing some reparations to the credibility of an institution that has meant a lot to people over the centuries," he said.
    "I think it's worthy. Is it possible? I have no idea but I think it's essential, it must be done," he added.
    But actor Stanley Tucci, who in the film portrays the victims' lawyer Mitchell Garabedian, stressed the film was not anti-Church.
    "I think people can't look at this as a condemnation of Catholicism but really more as a condemnation of those who abused the tenets of Catholicism and of Christianity. I hope that people see it that way because the Catholic Church has so many wonderful aspects to it," said Tucci.
    The real Spotlight reporters visited the film set and helped the actors become them on the big screen. Ruffalo said he and Michael Rezendes, whom he portrays in the movie, became friends in the process. He said Rezendes had been surprised to see him bring to the screen elements of his character and life that he thought he had not revealed or shown to others.
    "He was very moved by it because it cost him to do this and that was the interesting…what's interesting is what does it cost a hero? What does it cost him to do it? What is the struggle? It's never easy, it always costs something to the person who is taking on an endeavour like this and so I think he's very very happy with it and I'm happy with that because I want to do him right, you know," Ruffalo said.
    "Spotlight" will receive its world premiere at the 72nd Venice Film Festival later on Thursday.
    Director McCarthy said he was fascinated to find out how the film would be received in the mainly Catholic Italy but of one thing he was sure; there would be no reaction from the Vatican.
    "It takes, it really takes a big change and the Catholic Church moves slow, they move at their own pace and they rarely move. People have asked 'do you think they'll respond to this?' There is no way the Catholic Church will respond to this, it's not within their interest. I don't think they care," he said.
    "Spotlight" is screening out of competition in Venice. The film will also be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
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