Dear Lara
Lara St. John has done something incredible: she has made a documentary about sexual abuse in the classical music industry, including her abuse as a child at Curtis that is premiering at Santa Barbara International Film Festival on this coming Friday, February 6, 2026. I have seen an early version of this film and it is incredibly touching to see Lara and the survivors she interviews tell their own stories, in their own words. Lara saw a gap and stepped into it. She did not know anything about film-making when she started this project, only that a story needed to be told and she could help do it. It is no small feat to have one’s first film be a full-length documentary, let alone accepted at a festival. The premiere of this film is a testament to her extraordinary tenacity in advocating against abuse.