An Open Secret: How to watch the child abuse documentary Hollywood ‘doesn’t want you to see'

Film crew obtained information about an alleged group of child abusers in the film industry but failed to find willing distributors

The Hollywood sign in LA (Rex Features )

A documentary about an alleged paedophile ring in Hollywood has been viewed more than 3 million times after creators released it for free.

An Open Secret, which promises to shine a light on child abuse in the film industry, was posted online two years after it was apparently rejected by film and TV distributors.

Billed as "the film Hollywood doesn't want you to see", the documentary focuses on the alleged abuse of young boys and teenagers who want to work in the film industry.

Director Amy Berg, who won an Oscar for her film Deliver Us From Evil about sex abuse in the Catholic church, obtained information with her team about an alleged group of child abusers in Hollywood, including managers, agents, publicists and directors.

It tells of lavish parties where men allegedly gave boys drugs and alcohol before "trading" them for sex. Others were accused of spending years earning the trust of victims' families, grooming them, then sexually assaulting them.

One interview features Evan Henzi, who says he was 11-years-old when his manager Martin Weiss began molesting him.

Weiss pleaded no-contest in 2012 to two counts of child molestation and was sentenced to a year and a half in jail with five years probation.

Henzi, who is now 24, said: "I shared my story in An Open Secret so other victims who have been molested for years just like me can heal.

"When the film was released, I witnessed a lot of support by people who actually saw the film. What I did not witness was support from film festivals or Hollywood at large to promote the film."

Gabe Hoffman, a hedge fund manager based in Florida who financed the film, told the Guardian: "We got zero Hollywood offers to distribute the film. Not even one. Literally no offers for any price whatsover."

Creators have since decided to upload the film onto video-sharing website Vimeo this month, in response to the sex abuse scandal currently engulfing Hollywood.

The free viewing was supposed to end on Tuesday 31 October but people will now be able to watch it until Sunday 5 November.

Creators hope it will eventually be available on TV, Netflix or Amazon. You can watch An Open Secret here.

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