[7] The documentary focuses on Annie E. Clark and Andrea Pino,[8] two former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students who filed a Title IX complaint against UNC in response to their rapes while enrolled.
[12][13][14] Among the issues raised by critics are the film's portrayal of one man as a rapist, while not disclosing that the university and its police had found him not responsible for the alleged sexual assault[12][13] and for the use of controversial statistics.
[3][20] The narrative features Andrea Pino and Annie Clark,[8] students at the University of North Carolina, who became campus anti-rape activists after being assaulted.
[22] As well as talking to women who share how they were victims of both rapists and unsympathetic university officials, the filmmakers interviewed students, parents and administrators.
The Hunting Ground also includes a conversation with a former Notre Dame police officer who criticized how rape cases were handled at that institution.
[24] Producer Amy Ziering said that "our failure as a society to apprehend perpetrators leaves criminals at large who are savvy and experienced and able to continue to commit these crimes with impunity.
Its consensus reads: "The Hunting Ground isn't director Kirby Dick's strongest work as a filmmaker, but the movie's powerful message more than trumps any technical weaknesses.
[37] While most reviews were positive, Variety film critic, Ella Taylor accused The Hunting Ground of "shoddy journalism" and called it a "loaded piece of agitprop that plays fast and loose with statistics and our sympathy with victims of campus sexual assault".
[42] In December 2015, the film won the 2016 Stanley Kramer Award given to "a production, producer or other individual whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues.
Senators, accompanied by the film's lead subjects, Annie Clark and Andrea Pino, reintroduced the Campus Accountability and Safety Act.
They wrote, "This purported documentary provides a seriously false picture both of the general sexual assault phenomenon at universities and of our student Brandon Winston," citing, among other sources, Emily Yoffe's article in Slate.
[16] Jeannie Suk, one of nineteen Harvard Law professors to sign the letter, told the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education that filmmaker's comment "exemplifies the reckless way some people use the concept of a hostile environment these days", and later tweeted "if actually accused of violating Title IX because of our criticism of @thehuntinground we will not be allowed to speak about that".
[57] Professor Janet E. Halley, a signatory to the original letter, disputed Dick and Zeiring's statement, saying "The Hunting Ground has profoundly misled the public about the ensuing processes which came out decisively against those claims".
"[59][60] The filmmakers contended in response that Thrasher "just didn't want the film to be seen because it criticizes FSU for their handling of a sexual assault case.
[17] On November 20, 2015, lawyers for Jameis Winston sent a letter to CNN president Jeff Zucker threatening legal action against the network, should it air the film.
[61] Despite warnings from Winston's attorneys, CNN ran the documentary on November 22,[62] along with a follow-up program, hosted by Alisyn Camerota, discussing the film and the issues it raised.