WATCH: This harrowing short film takes on sexual abuse in the Catholic church

As “grooming” continues to be weaponized by right-wing politicians and baselessly lobbed at drag queens and the LGBTQ+ community at large, many remain quiet about the very real crisis within the Catholic church, which has a dark history of sexual abuse and cover-ups.

For queer filmmaker Quinn da Matta, that systemic abuse—and the years and years of trauma it has caused for its victims—cannot continue to be ignored, which is what compelled him to make the thought-provoking short film, Into Temptation.

“I grew up in the Roman Catholic church and saw firsthand the hypocrisy and, later, the dangers of blind faith,” the director shares with Queerty. “As I got older and was exposed to the abuse scandals that ran rampant—and unchecked—through churches and schools worldwide, the public’s reaction to the news angered me.”

So, da Matta sought to channel those strong emotions into a film that would explore “the trauma of celibacy, the concept of forbidden love, and the ramifications of abuse.” The result is the gripping and urgent Into Temptation.

In the film, a fateful encounter reunites a man named Michael (Juan Manuel Salcito) with the priest (Tom McLaren) who abused him as a child two decades prior. The power dynamics between the pair now flipped on their head, Michael grapples with the complicated feelings that he’s been unable to shake his entire life.

You can watch a brief teaser for Into Temptation here, or scroll down to watch it in full below:

What started as a revenge story becomes something much more complex, and da Matta’s hope is that audiences will be able to understand where Michael is coming from—even if they don’t agree with his actions.

To achieve this, Into Temptation makes impactful use of time and memory, with images of Michael’s younger self (played by Jaxon Ballenger) frequently spilling into his present day timeline.

“[Michael’s] past trauma is integral to the story, I had to explore those parts of his childhood,” says the filmmaker. “Those memories are not from his past—he still lives those words and believes those words to this very day. Those moments are as present with him… His blind faith in his priest and in the church’s authority created this reality.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Into Temptation (@into_temptation)

Though the story may be harrowing, da Matta approaches the subject matter with sensitivity, aiming to spread his message to those that need it most. As he writes in his director’s statement: “Healing comes from expressing. Understanding comes from sharing. And, in the middle lies my intention for this short film.”

He specifically recalls interacting with an audience member after a film festival screening, a woman who shared she was a survivor herself, remarking that seeing the film was both painful and cathartic, inspiring her to feel things she had not felt in a long time.

To know his work had such a profound impact on even one person is something da Matta considers one of his proudest achievements, and served as a reminder for why he set out to tell stories in the first place: To move people.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Into Temptation (@into_temptation)

As far as the film’s place in the national conversation around grooming, da Matta shares it was “critical” for him to portray “an authentic grooming experience.”

“Far too often, we are shown abusers as stern and angry, and brutal, and it is all too clear that they are not good people,” he says. “But I always took offense to that because it belittles the survivor’s experience—it is clear to us that the person is dangerous, so we struggle to relate or sympathize with the other for not seeing the obvious.”

“But that is not the reality of it all,” da Matta continues. “Most of these abusers are gentle, funny, loving, caring, and charming, masterfully showing all those wonderful traits. But they use all those skills and tools to manipulate and control. That is grooming. And that is why some survivors don’t even realize they were abused until years or decades later.”

After playing film festival across the continent, Into Temptation is now available in full online, in hopes that it can reach as wide an audience as possible.

You can watch the film below, and head to the Into Temptation website for more about its story and creative team.