Feature filmmaker Allison Anders screened her new autobiographical film, "Things Behind the Sun," to group of Columbia University film students, as part of the Film Division's Carla Kuhn Guest Speaker Series, last week. The show is scheduled to air on Showtime on Aug. 18.

The film, starring Kim Dickens, Don Cheadle and Eric Stoltz, is based on Anders' own story of being gang raped at age 12. Anders, a high school dropout, recovering alcoholic and 1995 winner of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship (commonly referred to as a "genius" grant), explores the traumatic impact that the rape had on her life.

Anders, who has gained a reputation as a voice of the strong and often tormented working-class woman with films like "Gas Food Lodging" and "Grace of My Heart," spoke candidly with students about how the rape overshadowed everything she did for the next 30 years. In the discussion, moderated by Susana Styron, adjunct associate professor in the Film Division, Anders also shared with students the intricacies of writing such a personal script and the emotional turmoil of returning to the actual rape scene during filming.

Instead of opting for a theatrical release, Anders selected cable television as the outlet for the film, hoping to attract a larger audience than a box office release would have.

To read the New York Times article on Anders and the film, click here