Figure out the one solution - not three - that you want to see happen. There were quite a few things we could have gone after but we decided to focus on the commanders and that was a strategic decision because that, for us, would be the most vulnerable point and the most effective one that could immediately change.
Amy ZieringThings can change if the military can do a paradigm shift and gets out of the shame and coverup cycle and be a leader in our culture. In the 50s, 60s and 70s there were huge race problems in the military even more severe than the culture at large. The military saw it was detrimental and it changed and became a model to society at large.
Amy ZieringWhenever I spoke with anybody who said they did not have a problem in the military it was because their commander treated them well. Every single time it was about the commander as to whether they had a good or bad experience.
Amy ZieringMe and Kirby are very collaborative and it changes from film to film. The first project we worked on together, Derrida, we co-directed. The last film Outrage, I was the producer and he was the director. This film was much more of a collaboration - he is the director and I am the producer - but this is a film by both of us.
Amy Ziering[Working with survivors] it's just a whole different level of concern and that is something that was categorically different working on this film than any other project we had done.
Amy ZieringYou always try and make a film that is a letter that will be read and we are so glad that it is being read by the right people in the right place and is inspiring change. It is also gratifying that the survivors are finding it healing and transformative. That's been really great.
Amy ZieringWe really want to send the message that commanders need to understand and be accountable. We saw that with the Catholic Church. No one cared when they went after the priests, but when they focused on the bishops then things began to change. And we see that analogy working with the military.
Amy Ziering