The UnRedacted (fka Jihad Rehab) faced a barrage of criticism before its premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2022 where it screened publicly for the first time.  After its premiere, critics accused Smaker of cultural overreach and Islamophobia while some openly admitted that they had not seen the film and didn’t need to see it.  In the wake of the firestorm, Sundance’s leadership apologized for programming The UnRedacted (fka Jihad Rehab) – a film they had praised and which had already received countless positive reviews in the press.  As a result, Smaker found both her film and herself ‘canceled’ and attacked on social media on a daily basis — a particularly destabilizing turn of events since Smaker had assumed she would be attacked by the right in the US for exactly the opposite reason: because the film boldly humanizes alleged terrorists and gives voice to the people we’ve never heard from.  More than a year later, Smaker is still navigating the complex waters of representation, and still fighting to get her film in front of audiences.  

Join us for a special screening of The UnRedacted, “The Most Canceled Film of the Year” according to The Times.  The film will be followed by a presentation and Q&A session with director Meg Smaker who will discuss what led to the film’s blacklisting since its premiere at Sundance and how this film has now become the case study for freedom of speech and freedom of expression in the Arts.