An account of a notable sexual assault that took place in Steubenville, Ohio in 2012, and the role that social media played in the crime and on the community.
Roll Red Roll is a true-crime thriller that goes behind the headlines to uncover the deep-seated and social media-fueled "boys will be boys" culture at the root of high school sexual assault in America. At a preseason football party in small-town Steubenville, Ohio, a heinous crime took place: the assault of a teenage girl by members of the beloved high school football team. What transpired would garner national attention and result in the sentencing of two key offenders. But it was the disturbing social media evidence uncovered online by crime blogger Alex Goddard that provoked the most powerful questions about the case, and about the collusion of teen bystanders, teachers, parents and coaches to protect the assailants and discredit the victim. As it painstakingly reconstructs the night of the crime and its aftermath, Roll Red Roll uncovers the ingrained rape culture at the heart of the incident, acting as a cautionary tale about what can happen when teenage social media bullying runs rampant and adults look the other way. The film unflinchingly asks: "why didn't anyone stop it?"—Sunset Park Pictures
