Asked to sit through a documentary about rape, most of us would politely decline. And yet this pervasive worldwide problem deserves more cinematic attention than it has received, especially when Hollywood traffics so heavily in the kind of sexually charged imagery that many psychologists say leads to increased instances of rape.

Cantabrigians Margaret Lazarus and Renner Wunderlich have made a thought-provoking half-hour short in which several women (including Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler) and one man discuss their personal experiences of rape. The film is a bit pedantic in its structure: the interviews are interspersed by title cards that make obvious statements about what rape is and what it does to its victims, and Professor Diane Rosenfeld is filmed giving a lecture to Harvard students. Lazarus and Wunderlich did choose their subjects well, however: these individuals are candid and articulate, offering straightforward but intimate testimonials. (video/30 minutes)