Women and Hollywood

Melissa Silverstein is the founder and editor of Women and Hollywood, one of the most respected sites for issues related to women and film as well as other areas of pop culture. Women and Hollywood educates, advocates, and agitates for gender parity across the entertainment industry.

She is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of The Athena Film Festival. The 4th annual festival will take place from February 6-9, 2014 at Barnard College in NYC.

Melissa recently published the first book from Women and Hollywood, In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing, which is a compilation of over 40 interviews that have appeared on the site.

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Blog Roll

A Film That Is Making a Difference - The Whistleblower

A couple of months ago I participated in a Q&A with Amy Kaufman one of the producers of The Whistleblower. I asked her if the people at the UN had seen the film and her reply was that she didn't think that they would be so into it because the film takes a harsh stand on the peacekeepers who trafficked women.

By Melissa Silverstein
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September 8, 2011 9:00 AM
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0 Comments

The Whistleblower - directed by Larysa Kondracki and written by Kondracki and Eilis Kirwan

When I was growing up the thing that scared the crap out of me was nuclear war. For many years I was convinced that we were all going to radiated away. So when I saw Silkwood it resonated with me in a profound way.

By Melissa Silverstein
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August 5, 2011 3:00 AM
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3 Comments

Interview with Larysa Kondracki - Director of The Whistleblower

Women and Hollywood: How did you come up with the idea for the film? Larysa Kondracki: I am a Ukrainian Canadian, and the issue of sex-trafficking was very much being discussed in my community. My mother handed me a book, and I was very much drawn to the subject. But it was when I read about Kathy's story that I was blown away by how widespread a crime this was. The corruption and cover-up within the UN, US State Department and other international governments was stupefying. I couldn't believe a film hadn't already been made.

By Melissa Silverstein
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August 5, 2011 2:22 AM
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1 Comment

Trailer Watch: The Whistleblower - Directed by Larysa Kondracki

The Whistleblower is a film that hits you right in the gut. It's based on the true story of a real life whistleblower Kathryn Bolkovac a cop from Nebraska who volunteered to go be a peacekeeper in the Balkans to make some quick good cash so she could be near her daughter who her ex had relocated. Little did she know that she would be walking into an international scandal of epic proportions -- the trafficking of women -- which the peacekeepers are involved in. She decides to stand up for these women who she is there to protect and gets herself fired and gets her life threatened. This is an important film that is a tough watch, but worth it.

By Melissa Silverstein
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June 2, 2011 3:00 AM
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2 Comments

Human Rights Watch Film Festival: The Women

Women directors are dominant in the upcoming Human Rights Watch Film Festival in NYC from June 16-30.

By Melissa Silverstein
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May 16, 2011 1:07 AM
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1 Comment