Tribeca Film Festival 2022: LEAVE NO TRACE

My first day of screenings was a heavy one at that. From the incredibly intense nature of Blaze, I moved on to my screening of Irene Taylor‘s Leave No Trace. There was a tying theme between the two films, the first encircling the trauma surrounding a child having witnessed the brutal rape of a woman. For Leave No Trace, this was not a narrative but a documentary encompassing the living trauma of the victims of the Boy Scouts of America. Leave No Trace had two goals in mind during its run time. It wanted viewers to understand not only the scope of the abuse that these kids underwent but the length the Boys Scouts of America went through to keep it a private matter. For its second goal, it wanted to give its victims a moment to be heard. For each, Leave No Trace was immensely successful.

They Always Knew

Establishing that an organization knew something long before they admitted fault can be an arduous and seemingly endless task. Leave No Trace takes its time making its case, starting the documentary off from the very beginning by displaying images and video of the euphoric and commendable induction of the Boy Scouts of America. An organization meant to instill a connection to nature while establishing key values for youth to carry on into adulthood, the Boy Scouts of America is not only the organization that everyone wanted to be in, it was highly endorsed.

As timely-paced as the documentary is, Leave No Trace does not hesitate to begin presenting the challenges of the organization and its inevitable failings early on. Because the organization knew it had a problem shortly after its creation. The scandal and the growth of Boy Scouts of America go hand-in-hand, the organization thriving and growing in parallel with its growing pedophilia problem.

As Leave No Trace weaves through the decades, enlisting various talking heads with their one-on-one accounts, the Boy Scouts of America is shaped and boxed into the idea of self-preservation – and not just of themselves. As viewers will come to understand, the culpability of the organization is on paper, each case within the organization is recorded and presented to executives before being hidden away in the “Perversion Files”. Here, evidence would lay for decades of the abuse of its scouts and the cover-up that would remain intact until the 2010s.

This self-preservation may seem obvious for the organization, yet the self-preservation extends beyond the scouts as a whole, the professions of various pedophiles flashing before the eyes of its audience. As one talking head would point out, why would these cases be reported to the police? Who were they to ruin the lives and turn in the local doctor, practitioner, etc? This self-preservation would subsequently mirror that of the Catholic Church, with violators put on “probation” and moved to another troop.

To Be Heard

Leave No Trace is a solid documentary. It is always aware of what it wants to say and the voices it wants to give power to. At times, it does start to feel long, a critique that is a hard one to make in the face of those who have been silenced for decades. And while tighter editing may have shaken the feeling of length, the various victims throughout its entirety deserve every moment to speak the truth they can get.

Leave No Trace is committed to getting the truth of the matter out to the public, but it is just as equally committed to the idea of the victims speaking their truth. The camera sits on victims, and at times their families, as they work through relaying their stories to the audience. These moments are basked in silence, the speaker free to fill the void of sound with their own words. The camera and the filmmaker behind it never rush each talking head, allowing them not only the safe space to speak, but to feel the vulnerability they wish to share with the world.

Conclusion

It is in the stories that victims are willing to share that Leave No Trace finds its strength. It feels clearly researched and documented, delivering a backstory that gives it its conviction. Leave No Trace will bring viewers through a cathartic journey, a variety of emotions flooding the hour and forty-eight minute run time, leaving its audience both informed and emotionally invested.

And by film’s end, it proves itself to not only be vital for the stories of the past but for the future as well. As the CEO of Boy Scouts of America is finally questioned regarding the bankruptcy filing, salaries of executives compared to other nonprofit organizations, and the potential changes in the future that may prevent this from happening to future scouts, it seems the past has had no mark on the future. And as we take in his words, there is little remorse and no signal of change to prevent this from ever happening. Because according to the CEO of Boy Scouts of America, you file for bankruptcy for the victims, not for the future. In a moment, Leave No Trace becomes a vital piece not just for the victims, but for the future.

Have you seen Leave No Trace? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Leave No Trace premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival on June 9, 2022!

Watch Leave No Trace