Cannes showcases dark side of film

A dark side of the film industry has played out on screen at Cannes in An Open Secret, a documentary about child sexual abuse that calls itself “the movie Hollywood doesn’t want you to see”.

It features interviews with former child actors and models who were abused by agents, managers, and other industry figures.

The filmmakers hope it will encourage more victims to speak out. “Once kids see that we stick up for the victims, then that’s when I think more people will come forward,” said Evan Henzi, a former child performer who was abused by his manager.

The film is directed by acclaimed documentarian Amy Berg, who made miscarriage-of-justice story West of Memphis and the Academy Award-nominated Deliver us from Evil, about child abuse in the Church.

An Open Secret treads a careful legal line, naming only abusers who have been convicted of sex offences.

One of the interviewees is Michael Egan, a former child actor who filed — and then dropped — a case accusing X-Men director Bryan Singer of sexually abusing him. Singer has denied the claims, and the film does not make allegations against him, though he is named as an acquaintance of digital entertainment entrepreneur Marc Collins-Rector, who was convicted of sex charges involving minors.

The film will be released in 20 US cities from June 5, and is seeking foreign buyers in Cannes, where it aired outside the festival selection.