Identity area
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Title
Date(s)
- 2010-2012 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Located in downtown Toronto, Cogent/Benger Productions was founded in 1998 and has produced a large variety of documentaries and specials. The focus on many of their documentaries are major social issues, thus creating a large appeal to their work. Robin Benger and Christopher Sumpton are the founding partners of the company. Benger had experience in Canadian journalism and documentary filmmaking, and Sumpton had worked at CBC editing and working on documentaries. Together they made In Security (Hot Docs 1998 nominee best political/social issue documentary) and Eastside Showdown (Gemini Awards 1999 nominee best social/political documentary) before finally teaming up to make Cogent/Benger Productions.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This documentary takes a look into four different scandals within four different religious faiths. The documentary begins with the Mullahs of Ian, and how state agencies have begun to use the Holy Koran to justify authority of Clerics, even in the face of rape and sodomy. Following this, the documentary turns to North America, visiting Orthodox Jewish communities in Winnipeg and Brooklyn where allegations of pedophilia have dived the communities. The high authority of a Buddhist Master is then examined, as a young woman accuses him of sexual servitude. Lastly, a preacher in the deep south is visited, who has been preaching anti-homosexuality, yet has made questionable advances to young men. The focus on four international stories drives home the common threads of sexual misconduct emerging in religion around the world.