The first trailer for Leave no trace offers a revealing look at the Boy Scouts of America’s centuries-old cover-up of sexual abuse that led to more than 82,000 men being accused of sexual abuse.
Directed by Emmy winner and Academy Award nominee Irene Taylor and presented by ABC News Studios, the documentary Imagine and Vermilion Films production follow the demise of the BSA following allegations that this organization – which has the support of US presidents, CEOs and community leaders and has maintained a significant cultural influence since its founding in 1910 – is aware of pedophiles in its ranks for generations.
It also explores how declining membership – the Scout’s financial lifeline – is linked to policies that fail to protect boys from sexually abusive Scout leaders, leading to the The Scouts declared bankruptcy in 2020, and a proposed reorganization plan would feature the largest sexual act addressing abuse in history.
The two-and-a-half-minute trailer previews the contents of the documentary, including financial records, court documents as well as first-hand accounts of survivors seeking justice amid a fee-based court hearing. high. It also includes custodial interviews and recordings with the organization’s former leader (and an insider) to explore how its executives are said to have placed financial and interest considerations in place. of the Scouts before the safety of tens of thousands of boys.
At one point in the doctor’s first glance, a young survivor recounts how he began to be abused less than a week into his military service, but “the night I got there, ” as his parents emotionally listened beside him. “I just thought, ‘What’s going on? Is this normal? ” he recounted. “It got much worse from there.”
To get to the bottom of the child abuse scandal that competes with the Catholic Church of the United States, Taylor delves into what’s been called a “depraved record” or profile of pedophile scout leaders – “more than a thousand men are using the program to abuse boys,” one thread said in the trailer – filled with “damn information” compiled by the leadership of the BSA organization.
Kept secret at the organization’s headquarters, according to the film’s diary lines, they allegedly concealed and helped conceal a century of sexual abuse against young scouts, when the The pedophile moves from one piece to another without warning. This is all while one of the most powerful organizations in America chooses to prioritize banning gay scouts and leaders from reporting known sex abusers to authorities, the film alleges.
In the trailer, survivors are also seen trying to cope with their trauma and how their life trajectories have been shaped by abuse, as they open up about what the causes are. The principles of organization taught them as young scouts—characteristics like loyalty, dependability, kindness, courage, and obedience—and the organization their parents believed in with “what is precious.” best value they had” betrayed that very trust.
“I was 40 years old before I told anyone,” said one survivor. “And when the detective said he confessed to abusing you, I must have read that email a hundred times because I no longer had to prove to people that I was abused.”
“It was not just a financial settlement,” said another elderly survivor. “It’s about the Scouts admitting they’ve done something wrong.”
In addition to directing, Taylor also produced with Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes for the documentary Imagine, Emily Singer Chapman and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nigel Jaquiss. Ron Howard is an executive producer alongside Brian Grazer and Taylor.
After premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 9, Leave no trace will then premiere on Hulu and hit theaters in New York and LA on June 16.
