Hot Docs Review: ‘The Yellow Ceiling’ documents a history of not wanting to see
‘The Yellow Ceiling’ records multiple former students’ accounts of abuse by teachers at an elite drama school in Spain.
The relationship between children and their teachers can be a very important one, representing their first encounters with authority and praise outside of the home. Adolescents are at a vulnerable stage in their lives, impressionable and open to new possibilities. Unfortunately, this openness also puts young people at risk from those who would take advantage. Adults are supposed to care for and protect kids in their charge, not exploit their access and connections. In The Yellow Ceiling, a group of drama students recount the abuse they experienced at the hands of their teacher more than a decade earlier.
The Municipal Theatre School in Lleida, Catalonia was renowned for its progressive program and talented staff. Many of its students are still involved in the dramatic arts, but that’s in spite of the abuse they experienced at the hands of two of the school’s most popular instructors. More than a decade later, a group of nine women describe the grooming and manipulation they incurred between the ages of 14 and 16. Their stories are all similar, even though they didn’t necessarily know it was happening to the others simultaneously. They recall being groped in the dark, intimate massages backstage and bunk arrangements on school trips that always included sharing a bed with the teacher. Finally confronting their memories and unpacking what occurred, they question how no one could have noticed and bring forward their accusations to try to stop the cycle.
The film is separated into nine chapters, seamlessly weaving together their accounts, demonstrating how he gained their trust and normalized his behaviour, which was then clumsily mimicked by another teacher. Archival footage and photographs show how tightly-knit the troupe was, particularly highlighting their physical closeness. The women display incredible strength as they detail their experiences, reflecting on how it made them feel then and what they’ve realized in hindsight. The way he eased them into complacency, using acting exercises to enter their personal space and convincing them he was a peer rather than an instructor, was predatory and sadly effective.
These accounts demand blame be placed on the teacher and the system that protected their abusers, turning a blind eye to their suspect methods and ignoring how everything seemed so unnecessarily sexualized. Even as he rose through the ranks from teacher to director, the plays the school staged appeared entirely inappropriate for teen players. The turning point occurs when the core victims’ voices are joined by even more former students who echo their experiences in the years following. Most of these cases surpassed the statute of limitations for prosecution, but since the documentary’s release, others came forward and their time limits have not expired.
The Yellow Ceiling had its North American premiere in the Persister programme at the Hot Docs Festival.
Read other reviews from the festival.
Director: Isabel Coixet