PARK CITY, Utah -- A southern Gothic tale that includes the rape of a young girl is causing a major stir at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

"Hounddog" is the story of Lewellen, a girl played by 12-year-old actress Dakota Fanning, who is growing up in the 1960s South. She is a free-spirit obsessed with Elvis Presley and has little adult supervision.

Even before the first screening, a Christian film critic, citing Fanning's age, called the movie child abuse. Bill Donohue, a Roman Catholic activist, is calling for a federal investigation.

Fanning defended her work, saying the rape scene is "not even the point of the film."

The film, co-starring Robin Wright Penn, David Morse and Piper Laurie, is competing for the Grand Jury Prize at the annual festival.

The darkly-lit, disturbing scene is not graphic. There is no nudity and only Fanning's face and hand are shown.

The annual festival, created by legendary actor-filmmaker Robert Redford to celebrate independent film, features several movies with sexual content.

Fanning first won acclaim for playing the daughter of a mentally-challenged man (Sean Penn) in "I Am Sam" and played Tom Cruise's daughter in Steven Spielberg's remake of "War of the Worlds."

She most recently stars in a live-action version of the classic children's book "Charlotte's Web."