In Loco Parentis
Leicester, Vermont | Film Feature
Documentary, Crime
Trigger Warning: This six-year-long investigation focuses on the survivors of sexual abuse in two elite boarding schools and the cover-up that hid these stories for decades. By supporting this project, you will ensure that these stories will be finally be heard for the first time.
In Loco Parentis
Leicester, Vermont | Film Feature
Documentary, Crime
1 Campaigns | Vermont, United States
67 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$8,597
Goal: $50,000 for post-production
Trigger Warning: This six-year-long investigation focuses on the survivors of sexual abuse in two elite boarding schools and the cover-up that hid these stories for decades. By supporting this project, you will ensure that these stories will be finally be heard for the first time.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE NARRATIVE
In the 1970s and 1980s, administrators at The Hotchkiss School and Indian Mountain School covered up the sexual abuse of dozens of children and teenagers at the hands of teachers, coaches, and headmasters. These schools reside two miles from one another in affluent Lakeville, CT.
Our film investigates who concealed these crimes—implicating former headmasters, former trustees, the local newspaper, and even insurance companies—and explores why boarding schools consistently choose to protect their reputations over the wellbeing of students.
Our story follows Hilary Mullins as she speaks for the first time after being released from an NDA that gagged her for two decades, signed after she was abused by two teachers while attending Hotchkiss in the 1970s. Now Hilary seeks reconciliation and resolution through meeting with former classmates and teachers, revisiting sites where she was abused, and even speaking out at public events held by Hotchkiss.
But this is not just Hilary's story. This is story of survivors from both schools who have dealt with lifetimes of trauma stemming not only from the original abuse but also the continued failure of administrators to offer them legitimacy or support. It's a story about NDAs, insurance malfeasance, accountability, and the forces that stand in the way between institutions and choosing right over wrong.
By including interviews with a wide array of stakeholders, including survivors, alums, headmasters, board of trustee members, reporters, and experts, we create a kaleidoscopic view of boarding schools and the culture that allowed predators to abuse students.
Ultimately, using never-before-seen depositions and formerly sealed documents, our investigation unravels a shared secret between these two schools that has never before been told.
WHY US & WHY NOW
For the past six years, Director Joel Fendelman and Producer James Chase Sanchez have been working on this documentary. Their journey started in 2019 when Sanchez met Hilary Mullins at a party. What began with one person's traumatic story evolved into an investigation consisting of nearly a hundred interviews, tens of thousands of pages documents and court transcripts, years of earning the trust of survivors and alleged abusers, and a steadfast dedication to the truth.
While there have been documentaries exposing sexual abuse in universities, the military, and in Hollywood, this is one of the first documentaries to focus on boarding schools.
This story is needed now because the silence, the secrets, the NDAs, the insurance cottage industry....it all needs to end.
FUNDRAISING GOALS
Our fundraising campaign is seeking $50,000 for three specific goals: 1) to finish post-production, 2) to get the film submitted to film festivals, and 3) to platform the film on a streaming service. One of our priorities with this documentary is to make it as accessible as possible because these survivors need to be heard and institutions need to be held accountable.
Your donation can help us accomplish these goals!
A pie chart breakdown of how we will spend this money is below:
STRETCH GOALS
The $50,000 above is a minimum amount we need to finish the film. Surpassing that amount would allow us to do the following:
- $50,000 to $75,000: These funds will pay E&O insurance, archival clearances, and final legal issues
- $75,000 to $100,000: These funds will pay for the Impact Campaign, including a publicist, an impact strategist, a website, and a trailer
Thank you, again, for considering a donation to this campaign and sharing it across your networks. Everyone who has participated in the story--especially those who have shared some of their darkest secrets--greatly appreciates it.
For more information, follow us on Facebook, on Instagram, and at our website.
Together, our voices are louder than those who wish to silence.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Motion Graphics + Poster + Credits
Costs $7,500
This money will pay the pros at Arts + Labor for the incredible poster, character pyramids, and end credits.
Legal Review
Costs $5,000
This money will pay for legal review of our film to make sure we are as safe as can be in terms of liability.
Sound Mixing
Costs $12,000
Professional sound mixing will give our film the quality audio you would find in a theater or on Netflix
Color Grading
Costs $10,000
Color Grading makes sure every scene follows a similar color palette and will make the film look like the quality you see in a theater!
Online Edit
Costs $12,500
This will pay for the final touches for this six-year project, including final editing and bringing all the parts together.
Festival Submission Fees
Costs $3,000
With these funds we can make sure we have enough money to submit this film to all the major festivals and get this story to the public
Share this update!
About This Team
Joel Fendelman and James Chase Sanchez are the co-founders of A Pound of Snow Productions, and as a duo, they have worked on multiple award-winning documentaries, including Man on Fire (2018), which won an International Documentary Association Award and aired on national PBS via Independent Lens, and North Putnam (2024), which won a Heartland Film Festival Award and was selected for a prestigious Southern Arts Tour in the 2024-2025 season. They have a short documentary, The Spiritual Advisor, which is co-produced with Rolling Stone and Documentary+ and will release this fall.
Associate Producer Laura Rosche is an expert in framing sexual abuse narratives and works to make sure every part of the film process is survivor-orientated.
Impact Producer Luke Robins is co-director of a short, award-winning documentary, Sabor y Amor, and is an Impact Producer for a forthcoming series by Mosaic Films.
Impact Producer Natalie Kopp is a PhD candidate in Rhetoric and Composition who studies documentary ethics and decided to bring her pedagogy and expertise to this film project.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE NARRATIVE
In the 1970s and 1980s, administrators at The Hotchkiss School and Indian Mountain School covered up the sexual abuse of dozens of children and teenagers at the hands of teachers, coaches, and headmasters. These schools reside two miles from one another in affluent Lakeville, CT.
Our film investigates who concealed these crimes—implicating former headmasters, former trustees, the local newspaper, and even insurance companies—and explores why boarding schools consistently choose to protect their reputations over the wellbeing of students.
Our story follows Hilary Mullins as she speaks for the first time after being released from an NDA that gagged her for two decades, signed after she was abused by two teachers while attending Hotchkiss in the 1970s. Now Hilary seeks reconciliation and resolution through meeting with former classmates and teachers, revisiting sites where she was abused, and even speaking out at public events held by Hotchkiss.
But this is not just Hilary's story. This is story of survivors from both schools who have dealt with lifetimes of trauma stemming not only from the original abuse but also the continued failure of administrators to offer them legitimacy or support. It's a story about NDAs, insurance malfeasance, accountability, and the forces that stand in the way between institutions and choosing right over wrong.
By including interviews with a wide array of stakeholders, including survivors, alums, headmasters, board of trustee members, reporters, and experts, we create a kaleidoscopic view of boarding schools and the culture that allowed predators to abuse students.
Ultimately, using never-before-seen depositions and formerly sealed documents, our investigation unravels a shared secret between these two schools that has never before been told.
WHY US & WHY NOW
For the past six years, Director Joel Fendelman and Producer James Chase Sanchez have been working on this documentary. Their journey started in 2019 when Sanchez met Hilary Mullins at a party. What began with one person's traumatic story evolved into an investigation consisting of nearly a hundred interviews, tens of thousands of pages documents and court transcripts, years of earning the trust of survivors and alleged abusers, and a steadfast dedication to the truth.
While there have been documentaries exposing sexual abuse in universities, the military, and in Hollywood, this is one of the first documentaries to focus on boarding schools.
This story is needed now because the silence, the secrets, the NDAs, the insurance cottage industry....it all needs to end.
FUNDRAISING GOALS
Our fundraising campaign is seeking $50,000 for three specific goals: 1) to finish post-production, 2) to get the film submitted to film festivals, and 3) to platform the film on a streaming service. One of our priorities with this documentary is to make it as accessible as possible because these survivors need to be heard and institutions need to be held accountable.
Your donation can help us accomplish these goals!
A pie chart breakdown of how we will spend this money is below:
STRETCH GOALS
The $50,000 above is a minimum amount we need to finish the film. Surpassing that amount would allow us to do the following:
- $50,000 to $75,000: These funds will pay E&O insurance, archival clearances, and final legal issues
- $75,000 to $100,000: These funds will pay for the Impact Campaign, including a publicist, an impact strategist, a website, and a trailer
Thank you, again, for considering a donation to this campaign and sharing it across your networks. Everyone who has participated in the story--especially those who have shared some of their darkest secrets--greatly appreciates it.
For more information, follow us on Facebook, on Instagram, and at our website.
Together, our voices are louder than those who wish to silence.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Motion Graphics + Poster + Credits
Costs $7,500
This money will pay the pros at Arts + Labor for the incredible poster, character pyramids, and end credits.
Legal Review
Costs $5,000
This money will pay for legal review of our film to make sure we are as safe as can be in terms of liability.
Sound Mixing
Costs $12,000
Professional sound mixing will give our film the quality audio you would find in a theater or on Netflix
Color Grading
Costs $10,000
Color Grading makes sure every scene follows a similar color palette and will make the film look like the quality you see in a theater!
Online Edit
Costs $12,500
This will pay for the final touches for this six-year project, including final editing and bringing all the parts together.
Festival Submission Fees
Costs $3,000
With these funds we can make sure we have enough money to submit this film to all the major festivals and get this story to the public
Share this update!
About This Team
Joel Fendelman and James Chase Sanchez are the co-founders of A Pound of Snow Productions, and as a duo, they have worked on multiple award-winning documentaries, including Man on Fire (2018), which won an International Documentary Association Award and aired on national PBS via Independent Lens, and North Putnam (2024), which won a Heartland Film Festival Award and was selected for a prestigious Southern Arts Tour in the 2024-2025 season. They have a short documentary, The Spiritual Advisor, which is co-produced with Rolling Stone and Documentary+ and will release this fall.
Associate Producer Laura Rosche is an expert in framing sexual abuse narratives and works to make sure every part of the film process is survivor-orientated.
Impact Producer Luke Robins is co-director of a short, award-winning documentary, Sabor y Amor, and is an Impact Producer for a forthcoming series by Mosaic Films.
Impact Producer Natalie Kopp is a PhD candidate in Rhetoric and Composition who studies documentary ethics and decided to bring her pedagogy and expertise to this film project.