‘Dear Lara’ documentary opens at New Plaza Cinema January 15
The documentary Dear Lara begins its theatrical distribution January 15, 2027, at New Plaza Cinema in New York. The commercial engagement follows a successful worldwide festival run. A campus and impact campaign launches alongside, making screenings available to universities, conservatories, and other educational and cultural institutions throughout North America.
The film explores decades of pervasive sexual abuse and institutional complicity in the classical music world. It premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February. Director Lara St. John shapes the work around her own experience as a 14-year-old student raped by her instructor at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, presenting multiple survivor accounts while examining the culture that protected reputations over accountability.
St. John originated the project after going public with her story in a 2019 Philadelphia Inquirer interview. She soon received letters from fellow survivors ready to speak. Those accounts guided her across North America and Europe, where she documented repeated patterns of grooming, exploitation, silence, and institutional failure.
Alongside survivors, the documentary interviews journalists, investigators, and faculty members familiar with conservatory culture and student experiences. It offers one concrete example of reform: the Conservatorium van Amsterdam has denounced past misdeeds and works to protect survivors rather than enforce silence.
St. John stated the intent clearly: “Making the film was definitely not about highlighting my own story. It was about listening to people who had been silenced and asking them what needs to change. What can we do to keep another generation of young musicians from experiencing what we did? We want to spark a noisy conversation with our audience that will trigger meaningful change at these schools.”
Dear Lara has screened at multiple festivals across North America and Europe. It received Best International Documentary at the Brittany International Film Festival, Best First Time Filmmaker at the LA Independent Women Film Awards, and the Courage Award from Cinema d'iDEA in Rome. Additional festival screenings remain scheduled in the coming months.
The documentary film known as Dear Lara was directed by the violinist Lara St. John herself. Patrick Hamm is credited as the producer of the project. The total runtime of the film is 95 minutes.
On the official site St. John adds: “Music was my voice even before I spoke. With Dear Lara, I’m now using that voice to help others reclaim theirs.” A pre-theatrical screening is set for the Naples International Film Festival in Florida on October 23, 2026.
