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 SmolyanskyI've been a social justice advocate all my life, becoming an activist for women and human rights even in high school, and found ways to weave it in to my later for-profit career. The first film I got involved in was Christy Turlington's "No Woman, No Cry" , which was about the impact of maternal health around the world. It brought this important issue to light, and even though I wasn't in a credit position, I helped her find ways to screen it.
Julie SmolyanskyIn the documentary space, the biggest and most obvious difference is that in those films you're not in it for a financial gain. It's a piece of collaboration and artistic expression, that pushes change and self expression, in the sense that everyone has a story.
Julie SmolyanskyWe have to shine a bright light on horrific moments in society if we're going to create a better world for our children.
Julie SmolyanskyDuring 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 Smolyansky