For several months, YouTube blocked the trailer for the Christian film "I'm Not Ashamed," much to the chagrin of the people who have worked hard to make the movie.
YouTube later reinstated the trailer, but the movie crew lost an opportunity to market the film better because of the block. "It's 11 months we've been fighting this battle," "I'm Not Ashamed" co-writer Bodie Thoene tells FOX411. "They actually took down the trailer and would not permit it to be put up."
"[YouTube] would not give any explanation, no explanation whatsoever, why they... [took it down]...we've lost 11 months of being able to use social media freely. We feel it's an interference with our freedom of expression," Thoene adds.
Meanwhile, Nise Davies, one of the film's producers, says they only found out that the trailer had been taken down when the actors in the film informed them about it. "It was just gone. It was shocking," says Davies.
To remedy the issue, YouTube put the video back up this week after being alerted about it, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The film's production company, Pure Flix Entertainment, says it was "never provided with any clear explanation or substantiation of why the movie trailer was removed." Because of YouTube's interference, the company missed out on several promotional activities for the film. It now demands compensation for 11 months of "lost online marketing for the movie."
In defence, YouTube issued a statement, saying: "With the massive volume of videos on our platform, sometimes we make the wrong call on content that is flagged by our community. When this is brought to our attention, we review the content and take appropriate action, including restoring videos or channels that were mistakenly removed."
"I'm Not Ashamed" is the story of the first person killed in the Columbine High School shootings, Rachel Joy Scott, a devout Christian. It will be released on Oct. 21.
