Change Lab Episode 8: Documentary filmmaker Amy Ziering on giving voice to survivors of sexual abuse
I determined that I wasn't going to let people be alone with their pain.
Amy Ziering
Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker and producer Amy Ziering has spent much of her career fighting injustice. Her diverse body of work includes Outrage, about the hypocrisy of closeted gay politicians; The Invisible War, which exposed the epidemic of rape in the military; and The Hunting Ground examining the prevalence of sexual assault on university campuses.
While Amy may not think of her own work as courageous, its enduring impact on society is inarguable. In this provocative and topical interview kicking off the second season of Change Lab, Amy traces her commitment to exposing hard truths about our sociiety and its foundational institutions to growing up the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.
Amy discusses convictions that have informed the career she's built at the leading edge of change, beginning with her first film, a richly layered cinematic profile of philosopher Jacques Derrida. She also looks back at what it's been like to work on films that hold those in power accountable for their actions and the challenges she's faced as a result. Most immediately, she examines the personal emotional toll involved in gathering survivors' stories, including those for her upcoming project on the epidemic of sexual assault in Hollywood.
