Why Am I Hiding?
In HMS’ earliest days, its co-founders Scott Silberstein and Matt Hoffman didn’t have a lot of extra money lying around to give to charitable causes, so they thought, what if we donated the creation of an informational video instead? The thinking being, we can still do something generous… and perhaps find out if we’re any good at making video.
A proposed 10-minute piece about the services provided by Chicago’s Rape Victim Advocates (now known as Resilience) blossomed into the first broadcast documentary focused on survivors or rape and sexual assault. The one-hour special, premiered on WTTW Chicago in September 1989 before going national, invited survivors to tell their stories and offered insights from therapists, counselors and the State's Attorney's office. As the buzz grew, L.A. Law’s Susan Ruttan offered to host and Suzanne Vega offered to contribute music.
And when it was first broadcast, the outpouring of requests for help from other survivors was powerful and overwhelming, Overnight, Why Am I Hiding had transformed the lives of all who had seen it, encouraging viewers to listen to people who had been assaulted and believe them, and providing for those survivors the most precious gift of all: hope.
Critics took immediate note. “Why Am I Hiding” is powerful, thought-provoking and informative,” said The Chicago Tribune. “Hard-hitting,” wrote The Chicago Sun-Times.
It wasn’t just the press. “We have been viewing educational films about sexual assault for many years,” offered Northwestern University, “ and have not, until this film, found what we wanted: a film that was not victim blaming and would engage young adults.” Added Mt. Sinai Hospital Medical Center, “Why Am I Hiding has a novel and sensitive approach to sexual victimization. The producers have generated a training tool that could be considered a primer in the field, and a must for anyone who seeks to understand this type of violence and its impact on both adult and child victims.”
And after all of that, a year later, the legendary Bill Kurtis presented Matt and Scott with their first two Emmys for Directing and Producing.