Film Biographies of Liberation: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERE HITE

Join us for GRRLS TO THE FRONT, our month-long collaboration with The Stone Church and The Vermont Women's Fund! Doors open 7pm, Introduction and Film begins at 7:30pm.

The Disappearance of Shere Hite (2023, 118 mins) by Oscar-nominated director Nicole Newnham (Crip Camp) profiles the groundbreaking sex researcher who soared to success and controversial notoriety in the 1970s, and her mysterious retreat from the public eye. 

ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY:

The Hite Report, a groundbreaking study of the intimate experiences of women, remains #30 of the bestselling books of all time since its publication in 1976. Drawn from anonymous survey responses, the book challenged restrictive conceptions of sex and opened a dialogue in popular culture around women’s pleasure. Its charismatic author, Shere Hite, a feminist sex researcher and former model, became the public messenger of women’s secret confessions. With each subsequent bestseller, she engaged television titans in unforgettably explicit debates about sexuality while suffering the backlash her controversial findings provoked. But few remember Shere Hite today. What led to her erasure? Digging into exclusive archives, as well as Hite’s personal journals and the original survey responses, filmmaker Nicole Newnham (Crip Camp, 2021 Best Feature Documentary Oscar® Nominee, Audience Award Winner: U.S. Documentary, 2020 Sundance Film Festival) transports viewers back to a time of great societal transformation around sexuality. Her revelatory portrait is a rediscovery of a pioneer who has had an unmistakable influence on current conversations about gender, sexuality, and bodily autonomy, as well as a timely, cautionary tale of what too often happens to women who dare speak out.

Free entry to the film for participants of the GRRLS TO THE FRONT workshops at The Stone Church! Please register in advance as spaces are limited. The Mission of GRRLS TO THE FRONT is to create access an opportunity for women and non-binary people in the music industry. To celebrate their accomplishments. To amplify their voices & To connect them with resources and each other. This series was made possible by support from The Vermont Women's Fund.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM:

"Nicole Newnham’s film recoups Hite’s story from the margins of feminist history with both style and substance"- New York Times

"Persuasively makes the case that Hite deserves renewed recognition as a feminist trailblazer, particularly in the still-fraught arena of sexual politics, self-knowledge and liberation."-The Guardian