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PARK CITY, Utah (AP) – Wade Robson and James Safechuck did not know what to think when the lights went out after the first public screening of "Leaving Neverland" at the end of last month at the Sundance Film Festival. In the two-part, 236-minute documentary on HBO and Channel 4 in Britain, the two women describe, in heart-rending detail, how they say Michael Jackson sexually assaulted them as boys. It was the second time they saw it and the first time with an audience.
The director of Entermission, Dan Reed, even wondered whether they would succeed in answering the questions and answers they had promised to do. Safechuck stated that it was as if we had "received a punch in the face". But they stayed and watched, and at the time of the credits, the few hundred people in the audience stood up and solemnly applauded.
Robson, 36, and Safechuck, 40, made their way to the stage, a little surprised yet not to be alive again, but moved. It took them a minute to understand why: it was the first time they had received public support to tell their story.
Both men have had tumultuous years since they first appeared in adulthood to claim abuse after Jackson's death in 2009 and after repeatedly declaring that there were none. not. Robson testified for Jackson's defense during the 2005 molestation trial only with the acquittal of the superstar. The lawsuits against Jackson's estate, detailing the abuse, have been dismissed for procedural reasons, although an appeal is pending. The domain continues to attack their credibility, and they met with incredulity and even threats from fans. Thus, when Reed, a British filmmaker who is more used to covering the war and terrorism, contacted them separately in 2017 to tell their story through a documentary, they were reluctant, but decided to meet him out of curiosity.
"I was worried that someone would only be thrilling the story," Safechuck told The Associated Press the day after that first screening, with Reed and Robson at his side. "Does this person just want to make a room to watch because it's Michael? Or is there someone who will tell the story of survivors and abusers and how does it look? "
Robson, a renowned choreographer who worked with Britney Spears and 'N Sync, among others, had more experience in the media and was particularly cautious, but agreed to lunch.
"I felt comfortable enough quickly enough to say that he was a man of integrity," Robson said.
Reed did not have an agenda or plan. He was just there to listen and document. So they accepted. Robson was interviewed for three days and Safechuck for two days.
"I wanted to stay completely open minded," said Reed. "In the end, there is no video of Michael Jackson mistreating Wade and James. There is no cache of photographs. So what you do is listen to the person and give them a judgment to determine if there is a truth or not. "
The film details how Robson, Safechuck and their families learned to trust Jackson at the pinnacle of his celebrity in the 1980s and early 1990s. The alleged abuse, allegedly committed at the time. age of 7 by Robson, and the one at the origin of Safechuck at 10 years old. traumas that appeared in adulthood when they began to understand what had happened to them. The two mothers are also interviewed, along with their wives and two brothers and sisters of Robson.
Reed discovered that he did not have to ask a lot of questions, but he gave them some advice: do not offer a comment, do not try to process in real time, but just say what happened . It was cathartic for Robson.
"I have already encountered so much repugnance and adversity about telling the truth and trying to tell the truth that it has become instinctive for me and habitual for me to feel constantly obliged to explain myself and to explain the story. contradictory feelings. Dan gave us the directive not to do this was ultimately an extremely powerful experience for me. This has allowed me to be all the more present in the narrative of the story, which ended up being so therapeutic, "Robson said. "Going through the interview process has been an extreme healing experience."
This was not the case for Safechuck, however.
"Yeah, no," Safechuck said with a hesitant laugh. "I do not think it was so therapeutic for me. It was hard. "
But both are happy that their stories will be published soon, even if the reaction only intensifies on the part of fans and Michael Jackson's estate.
The estate has strongly denounced the documentary, attacking the credibility of Robson and Safechuck, as well as the filmmaker for not including any other voice having known Jackson.
"It's the story of these two families and not all the other people who have been or have not been abused by Michael Jackson," said Reed. "How to interview a person who was friends with Jackson and who has not seen anything that can help me tell the story?" The fact that Jackson did not abuse his children for several hours of the day does not mean that it has not been several hours a day. "
The estate said Robson had looked for work on a Jackson-themed Cirque du Soleil show and had raised allegations of molestation only after he was not hired.
"It's totally inaccurate," said Robson. "I've been hired three times for different iterations of this Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil show, in order to choreograph it. I have never been denied a role. I withdrew from the project three times because of the nervous breakdown I was going through. "
Robson stated that the nervous breakdown had led him to speak for the first time about his abuse to his therapist, and that he was starting the journey he was now undertaking.
An iconic figure even in death, Jackson's cultural resonance remains as powerful as ever. A musical on stage, "Do not Stop 'Til You Get Enough," is expected to debut on Broadway in the summer of 2020 and his songs are still on the radio. Neither Safechuck nor Robson know how the public should see Jackson or his music after watching.
"It's up to them to decide," Safechuck said.
For both, it's about highlighting sexual abuse, not Jackson's legacy, although it's likely the movie will also have an impact on it.
"Michael was an extremely complex character, like many people, and he has good looks and has done good things in his life. And he was also a sick man who sexually abused us and I believe many others, "said Robson. "It's just not black and white. These things exist at the same time. Hope we can all open our minds about it. "
"Leaving Neverland" will be broadcast in two parts on HBO at 8 pm. is March 3rd and 4th.
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Follow AP movie author Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
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