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We have come to expect video footage to tell the truth, to shine a light on "what really happened." But as the young makers of "Raw Deal: A Question of Consent" discovered, explosive footage can be powerful enough to polarize an entire community. Here are the facts: in February of 1999 an exotic Dancer named Lisa Gier King was hired by the Delta Chi fraternity house on the University of Florida campus at Gainesville. The next morning, King ran from the house half-naked and distraught, claiming that frat brother Michael Yahraus had raped her. While investigating, the police discovered hours of video footage taken by Yahraus and his fraternity brothers depicting the events of that night, video that turned the case on its head, causing King herself to be arrested and charged with filing a false report. A shocking portrait of Greek life at its seediest, the footage is as graphic as it gets. But what is truly outrageous is the way the tapes were handled by the Alachua County State Attorney, Rod Smith. Under pressure to appear supportive of his police department and under siege by the Campus National Organization for Women and the broadcast news media, Smith, in the midst of a campaign for State Senate, authorized the duplication and release of countless copies of the Delta Chi tapes.
Through extensive interviews with participants on all sides of the issue, we see how the footage was used to advance various agendas. But we also see how video can betray the high expectations we have for the medium, since the tapes ultimately show everything while they prove nothing for certain, except perhaps that subjectivity and short-sightedness are the Achilles' heel of our justice system. For their part, producer Alfred Spellman and director Billy Corben, in the tradition of great investigative journalism, aggressively pursued the full spectrum of voices on all sides of this harrowing case. In so doing they have put together a powerful film that will surely inspire heated debate.
Director Billy Corben and producer Alfred Spellman will be at Sundance for the duration of the Festival. |
