Chatham native and London lawyer Rob Talach is planning a public viewing of some sort in Chatham of the Oscar winning film Spotlight after the local theatre was passed over during the movie's initial release.
The movie focuses on the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal in Boston, but Talach says the movie hits close to home for many in Chatham-Kent after the decades of abuse by Father Charles Sylvestre originally from Belle River.
Talach feels it's important for people in southwestern Ontario to see the movie.
"I think it helps them understand how this happened," says Talach. "How the institution, in this case the Roman Catholic Diocese of London, was a complicit player in some of these scandals."
Talach is planning on either screening the film for free himself at a venue to be named later or handing out free copies of the movie and encouraging people to pass it on.
He says the screening of the movie in London left many speechless or in tears.
"I would expect that reaction in Chatham, but I would also expect in many of the viewers a much more personal reaction because of their ties, involvement or knowledge of the different priest scandals in the area; they knew someone, it's affected their family in some way," says Talach.
At the end of the movie, Chatham is listed as one of two Canadian locations where Roman Catholic sexual abuses took place. The other listed by the movie is Wilno, Ontario.
The Chatham-Kent Film Group will be showing the film at the St. Clair College Capitol Theatre on Monday, June 6th at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
