During the mourning period after my father passed, his friends and colleagues were saying there was no way the business would survive. There was no way that a 27-year-old woman could run a company. I was so pissed that this was a conversation during a mourning period, and that a woman who was educated and working at a high level at the company wasn't considered for leadership. This was my father's life work, something I was completely connected to, and I knew I could take the reins.
Julie SmolyanskyIt is still harder all around for women to get funding in business and film. There are only a very small group of female unicorns who have the power to tell stories on film. We need to have the courage to push back... all the effort is the work of bravery.
Julie SmolyanskyWhat is exciting today is that with technology filmmaking has been democratized, and so many more people have access to making a film.
Julie SmolyanskyI do think film can change culture, in a way that reading a story in the New York Times does not.
Julie Smolyansky