Dogwoof announced Nov 29 that it will release The Disappearance of Shere Hite, directed by Nicole Newnham, co-director of the Oscar nominated documentary Crip Camp, in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 12 January 2024.
Narrated by Dakota Johnson, the film remembers the 1970s feminist sex researcher Shere Hite, whose groundbreaking study of the intimate experiences of women ( The Hite Report), remains one of the bestselling books of all time since its publication in 1976.
The Disappearance of Shere Hite was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year and was included in DOC NYC’s shortlist. The film was included on Cinema Eye’s “Unforgettables” list of the year’s most compelling documentary subjects and was nominated for three Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards – Best Archival Documentary, Best Biographical Documentary and Best Narration. The Disappearance of Shere Hite is currently Certified Fresh 100 % on Rotten Tomatoes, says Dogwoof.
Director Nicole Newnham comments: “I was 12 years old when I discovered ‘The Hite Report’ in my mother’s nightstand drawer, sneaking it to read for myself, to learn about the world of female sexuality, a world that remained cloaked in shame and mystery for me as for so many others. The women who answered Shere’s survey were eye-opening to me in their diversity – across age, race, ability, sexual identity and experiences – and in their commonality. I realized young women today needed to be having these conversations. In our post-#metoo era, Shere Hite’s works illuminate the biases and taboos that go unsaid in our society and are dangerous to women. I hope that through re-discovering Shere Hite’s legacy we can reignite discussions among women about female pleasure and gender equality that for too long have been lost.”
The Disappearance of Shere Hite is produced by Molly O’Brien, R.J. Cutler, Elise Pearlstein, Kimberley Ferdinando, Trevor Smith and Nicole Newnham. The film is a production from NBC News Studios, This Machine, Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction, Teatime Pictures.
