The Canceled Movie Hollywood (Still) Won’t Defend
'The UnRedacted' screened at USC, part of its uphill free speech fight
Celebrities rose up en masse to decry Disney’s decision to bench Jimmy Kimmel earlier this month.
They pledged their support to the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host, calling his suspension an assault on the First Amendment. Free speech matters now more than ever, they collectively cried.
Few stars have noticed, let alone protested, the cancellation of a critically hailed documentary by a female filmmaker. Even a Disney heiress reversed course on the title.
Three years after its initial cancellation, the film in question still seeks distribution.
Meg Smaker’s “Jihad Rehab” snagged a coveted spot in the 2022 Sundance Film Festival lineup. Abigail Disney, Walt Disney’s grand-niece and an heir to the family’s fortune, initially agreed to co-produce the film.
The documentary follows four Gitmo detainees as they attempt to resume their lives following extended sentences.
The film’s web site gathers some rave reviews from its initial film festival run.
- “Thought-provoking…a miracle and an interrogative act of defiance.” –Variety
- “This is a movie for intelligent people looking to have their preconceived notions challenged.” – The Guardian
- “A moving portrait of souls damaged and destroyed by war”- LA Times
And then the film’s cultural critics swamped the conversation. Some slammed Sundance for screening the film in the first place (the storied festival issued an apology for doing so). Others suggested a white woman like Smaker shouldn’t be the one to tell the stories in question.
More than a few claimed Smaker put the former detainees’ lives in danger by including them in the film, even though they were fully aware of the process and possible consequences. A fifth detainee decided to quit the project mid-filming.
Smaker submitted an independent ethics review to Sundance following the outcry, according to The Ankler, but that didn’t satisfy the film’s critics. Even Abigail Disney disavowed the project despite her initial embrace.
Smaker says the heiress offered to pay her travel expenses if she stopped promoting the film for a year.
“The UnRedacted,” the documentary’s updated name, has attracted a few high-profile defenders. They include journalist/filmmaker Sebastian Junger, liberal journalist Kara Swisher and Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney.
I have problems with the early part of the film by Meg Smaker. I also think the last half is excellent. But the broader issue is the campaign against Smaker’s film was not intended as debate but as censorship. Smaker was terribly served by her executive producer @abigaildisney
— Alex Gibney (@alexgibneyfilm) September 25, 2022
Most creative types took a knee on the subject.
Making matters worse? Some of the people who worked on the film asked to have their names removed from the project following threats from the film’s critics, according to The Ankler report.
That was three years ago, when Cancel Culture was still at its peak. Things haven’t gotten dramatically better for “The UnRedacted.”
The documentary is still without a distributor. No streaming service has been willing to take a chance on the title.
RELATED: WOKE FESTIVALS SHUN PROBLEMATIC FILMS
A minor victory? “The UnRedacted” screened at USC Sept. 10, but even that event had its share of drama. A fresh letter-writing campaign urged the university to cancel the screening, citing similar accusations that originally greeted the film.
That pressure campaign included Peace Is Loud, a nonprofit created by Abigail Disney.
The screening went on as planned, including a spirited Q&A.
Other universities have refused to screen the film, but Smaker isn’t giving up. She reportedly continues to work on her cinematic skill set and won’t stop until “The UnRedacted” lands some kind of release.
What Elon Musk dubbed the “woke mind virus” is on the decline. Free speech is making a comeback on the comedy circuit. And Hollywood voices who sat out the culture wars for nearly a decade are suddenly speaking out on behalf of a far-Left late-night host.
Maybe a few of those voices can give Smaker’s documentary the boost it still desperately needs. That’s assuming their free speech arguments weren’t relegated to a partisan talker.