''I, Pedophile'' is a Canadian documentary film about men who are sexually attracted to children, but do not commit sexual offenses. It was first broadcast in 2016 and was nominated for the

Donald Brittain Award The Donald Brittain Award is a Canadian television award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to honour the year's best television documentary on a social or political topic. Formerly presented as part of the Gemini Awards, s ...

for best social/political documentary program at the

5th Canadian Screen Awards The 5th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 12, 2017, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2016. Nominations were announced on January 17, 2017. Awards in many of the technical categor ...

. The film introduces Bob Radke and Ed Chambers, two

pedophilic Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

men who openly acknowledge that they experience sexual attractions to children, but state that they have never

molested Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

one. They live their lives suppressing their sex drives, but still face being stigmatized and marginalized.

Content

The film features

James Cantor James M. Cantor is an American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist specializing in hypersexuality and paraphilias. A former senior scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Cantor explains his program of research findings in the film, showing how the findings led to the conclusion that pedophilia is in the brain and that those brain differences were likely present before birth. He states, "The day before somebody gives in to his sexual interest in children, he was a person who was struggling with his sexual interests in children, and that's the day we failed him." Director Matt Campea described in an interview what drew him to this topic for a documentary: "They have this secret that festers inside them that they can't talk to anyone about. That's a dark place." He continued, "We're at a moment in time here. If somebody is born with something they can't control, we shouldn't condemn them. We should extend a compassionate hand and give them the resources they need to lead a virtuous, dignified life."

Release and reception

''I, Pedophile'' premiered on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

's ''

Firsthand Firsthand (sometimes first hand or first-hand) means obtained directly from the primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, ...

'' documentary series to positive reviews. The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' wrote that the film was "so riveting and enlightening, you can't stop watching it." The film was nominated by the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian film industry and television industry professionals, most notably through the Canadian Scre ...

for Best Social/Political Documentary Program (the

Donald Brittain Donald Code Brittain, (June 10, 1928 – July 21, 1989) was a film director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada. Career ''Fields of Sacrifice'' (1964) is considered Brittain's first major film as director. His other notable ...

Award) at the

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 5610134 2016 television films 2016 films Canadian documentary television films Documentary films about pedophilia CBC Television original films 2010s Canadian films