Lea is a documentary filmmaker. She is currently working on an expose about a religious cult known as the Believers. Lea has been in contact with many survivors who now denounce the cult. Some of the former cult members have been happy to talk to Lea and have agreed to be interviewed on camera for her documentary.
The first interview subject, Terri, signed a standard interview release. During this interview, Terri discussed disturbing details of cult rituals where members were branded and were forced to drink hallucinogenic tea. Terri named specific individuals who participated in the rituals. Lea interviewed Terri three separate times, but only had Terri signed a written release during the initial interview. Following the premiere of the documentary, Terri’s received backlash and death threats from the Believers community. Terri contacted Lea and demanded that she remove Terri’s interviews from the documentary or else she would take legal action against Lea.
A second interview subject, referred to as Anonymous, asked that their identity not be revealed. Anonymous refused to sign a written interview release but acknowledged that they were being interviewed in connection with the documentary on camera. Halfway through the interview, Anonymous requested that a specific incident be “off the record”. This incident was about a closed-door conversation Anonymous had with the leader and vice chairman of the Believers regarding criminal activity the Believers were engaged in. Anonymous’ identity would be compromised if this information was release. Lea disregarded Anonymous’ request and included information about this sensitive conversation in the documentary.
The third interview subject was the head of the Believers himself, Dr. Drogo. Drogo agreed to be interviewed under the pretense that Lea and her camera crew were from the local news station. Lea had implied that they were doing a news story about all the great local charity work the Believers promoted. Drogo signed an interview release that made no reference to the documentary film or as to the true purpose of the interview. The general tone of the interview was positive. Drogo discussed the mission of the Believers and attempted to dispel common misconceptions about the group. In the final documentary, Lea edited together portions of Drogo’s interview with direct evidence that contradicted Drogo’s statements.
Have any personal rights violations occurred? Why or why not? What steps did Lea correctly take to protect the film against personal rights violations? What actions should Lea have taken to better protect the documentary against personal rights claims?
Discuss each interview subject scenario individually.
