PARK CITY, Utah — “The Hunting Ground,” set for release in theaters and broadcast on CNN, was billed by the Sundance Film Festival as a “piercing, monumental exposé of rape culture on campuses.” Judging by viewer reaction at the film’s premiere and the comments of two United States senators afterward, festival programmers might have undersold it.
Though the subject has been explored in depth by some publications, the response testified to the power of film. At the premiere here on Friday, audience members repeatedly gasped as student after student spoke on camera about being sexually assaulted — and being subsequently ignored or run through endless hoops by college administrators concerned about keeping rape statistics low.
“The power on that status quo side, you’re going to see it in response to this film,” said Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, at a related panel discussion on Saturday. She added, “Believe me, there will be fallout.”
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“All of them passed or did not respond at all,” Mr. Dick said of the presidents of the six schools at the center of the documentary, including Harvard. He said his team contacted another 35 schools. “No response or they passed on the interview,” he said.
A version of this article appears in print on January 26, 2015, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Unblinking Look At Sex Assaults On Campus. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
