Career Highlights

• Alumnus of the Film and Video program at California Institute of the Arts
• Won the Special Jury Prize at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival for SICK: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST
• Won Grand Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival
• Nominated for an Academy Award for Twist of Faith
• Submitted early cut of This Film is Not Yet Rated to the MPAA and received an NC-17 rating

Kirby Dick is best known for directing award-winning documentary films but he has also acted as a producer, screenwriter and editor. He studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, at the Film and Video program at the California Institute of the Arts, and at the American Film Institute. The first documentary he created, Private Practices: The Story of a Sex Surrogate, did well when shown at film festivals and led to his next creation, Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist in 1997. The film won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival that helped establish Dick’s position as an independent filmmaker. His next two films, Chain Camera and Derrida, were both well received.

His three most recent films follow his pattern of exploring issues that are traditionally taboo such as homosexuality and sexual abuse. 2005’s Academy Award nominated Twist of Faith followed a man who decides to speak out about his childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest. This Film is Not Yet Rated investigated the Motion Picture Association of America and its secretive ratings board in 2006 and his most recent film was Outrage, released in 2009. Outrage looked at politicians who voted against gay rights but were believed to be closeted gay men themselves.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Dick and produced by Eddie Schmidt, it investigates the Motion Picture Association of America’s rating system and the effect it has on American culture. It examines inconsistencies seen by Dick in ratings and feedback between different categories of films such as independent and Hollywood. Dick speaks with directors and actors about the censorship of their films and sends investigators to the MPAA ratings board to see if they are upholding the standards they claim to have concerning their employees. The film’s first draft was given a rating of NC-17 by the MPAA due to “some graphic sexual content.” Dick appealed the rating and the situation was included in the film.

Kirby Dick sits down with ThinkTalk host Zack Sherwood to discuss his new documentary “This Film Is Not Yet Rated,” which takes an investigative look into the MPAA rating system. Dick offers career advice to aspiring filmmakers on how to pitch, finance, and make films.

Kirby Dick answered questions from George Washington University students Matt, Amrita, Caitlin and Kevin. Matt asks how the MPAA rates films, and questions whether it is a corrupt process. Amrita asks if his films are emotionally significant to him. Caitlin asks how risky it is to challenge his own industry in his film. Kevin asks what effects Kirby Dick’s movie will have on independent films becoming a part of mainstream Hollywood films.