Open Secret:

UPDATE: WE ARE 92% FUNDED!

We're on a sprint to raise the final 8% and release this year.

We recently had the good fortune to connect with Victor Rivas Rivers. He has a singular story that makes him an exceptional child advocate and now, supporter of Open Secret.

Some children survive.

Some children spend the rest of their lives making sure others don’t have to.

As a child, Victor Rivas Rivers lived through unimaginable, terrifying physical, emotional and sexual abuse from his father. It was torturous by any standards.

He could have let that story define him. Instead he found his voice. And he used it.

He emancipated himself at 15, he became a gang member, living on the streets. An amazing twist of fate intervened - his whole community stepped up for him. Foster homes were offered, they fed him and helped him find his way and Victor was brave enough to accept the help that was offered.

He went on to letter in four sports, became the student body president, and earned a full scholarship at Florida State, even playing for the Miami Dolphins!

He went on to become a successful actor, author (A Private Family Matter) and a nationally respected advocate for children. He's spoken at multipe YWCA's across the country, and a spokesman for the National Network to End Domestic Violence. He is also a community champion for the Verizon Foundation and ultimately was awarded "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" by E Women's News.

Today, he lends his voice to Open Secret because he knows what happens when adults stay silent - and his message is simple:

Your past does not determine your future.

Find your angels. Find your mentors. Ask for, and accept help. Healing is possible. Protecting children starts with adults being willing to look, listen, and act. Not turn away.

Open Secret documents the courageous few who united to confront decades of corruption that allowed child sexual abuse and discrimination to permeate the walls of New Hanover County’s school district.

This film isn’t about politics. Though many have tried to make it so.

It IS about courage and what it takes to change a fractured and corrupt system, unwilling to protect its children. It is about what it takes to create change.

It is about making sure the next child doesn’t have to survive what so many before them did.

We’re now 92% funded!

We are in a sprint to raise the final 8% and while many of you have already generously donated to Open Secret, this request would be to share Victor’s story with 5 friends who you know care deeply about child safety issues. Moms, dads, grandparents, guardians, educators, peers. Every donation brings us closer to releasing a film designed to educate parents, empower communities, and protect children.

Join us as we cross the finish line - after a five-year investigation that is now ready to be revealed.

We can replace silence with action.

You can invest or donate here: OpenSecretTheFilm.com.

Open Secret: The Film - A five year journey is coming to an end-just 8% more to raise!

Open Secret is a feature documentary born out of an unsettling question: What happens when the educational institutions entrusted to protect children protect predators instead? What emerges is not just a story of abuse, but of systemic failure, where powerful individuals, corrupt practices and a community in fear of retribution for speaking up. Can a small group of citizens unite to challenge decades of corruption and create a safe learning environment for their county's children?

Child predators, and the systems that enable them, are finally facing a reckoning. We are releasing Open Secret at a moment in history when the public no longer needs convincing this abuse exists - they want accountability and change.

Awareness alone doesn’t protect a child. We believe prevention is the way forward. Our film offers tools, skills and knowledge to empower families and protect their children from becoming targets of predators in school.

While the horrors of child sexual abuse can feel distant or overwhelming. Open Secret brings the issue into our communities, because what we uncovered is not limited to New Hanover County School District. We shine a light on an global epidemic.

Open Secret is ultimately a film about the courage of ordinary people to unite and successfully challenge corrupt and fractured institutions, however long their hold on a commuity.

CLICK TO PLAY TRAILER

Join a growing community actively engaged in reaching students, parents, educators, school boards, and policymakers with tools to create lasting change.

To invest in Open Secret:
WeFunder.com/OpenSecret


WATCH A CLIP FROM OPEN SECRET

Share our campaign with a friend, donate if you can, we're in the final sprint to raise the last 8%.

Highlights:

Regal Cinemas has already expressed interest in taking this film nationwide, but they need to see the final cut.... with your donation, we've never been closer to showing them one.

Child Safety Curriculum: After our film releases, we will work with Brandi Dugal, founder of The Fidget Games. Her innovative work in education was noticed by Shark Tank (which she won!). Brandi has generously offered her support to collaborate with Open Secret on the development of a child safety curriculum, inspired by this film. Her unwavering commitment to children is reflected in her company’s mission to make learning multisensory, engaging, and accessible for students of all ability levels.

Today, The Fidget Game’s programs are used in more than 50,000 schools across all 50 states, transforming how children experience learning in classrooms nationwide. Imagine us being able to reach such numbers with what we uncovered - to protect that many children from one film's release.

Brandi is helping to extend our work beyond awareness and into meaningful, preventative action that empowers children, families, and educators.

"I am so honored and thrilled to be a part of something so transformational."
Brandi Dugal, Entrepreneur

Your donation is tax deductible. Open Secret's Fiscal Sponsor is:

Entertainment 2 Affect Change (E2AC) EIN: 46-2660255

A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to producing high quality digital, cinematic, and live entertainment for the express purpose of bringing positive change to underserved health and social communities.

E2AC's vision is to revolutionize the way that organizations, content creators, and funders collaborate to tell meaningful and powerful stories that entertain, engage, educate, and inspire.