A German director portrays the research that led to #MeToo
Verena Greb
November 18, 2022
Maria Schrader's film "She Said," about how the Harvey Weinstein scandal was revealed and ended up triggering the #MeToo movement, shows the power of investigative journalism.
Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan on the set of "She Said"Image: RW/MPI/Captital Pictures/picture alliance
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Starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, "She Said" portrays the work of the two journalists who uncovered a scandal that triggered a seismic shift worldwide.
The film, by German director Maria Schrader, is opening in cinemas around the world.
Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor's famous investigation centered on Harvey Weinstein, the once-powerful producer of many Hollywood films.
At the time, over five years ago, rumors in the newsroom had it that Weinstein exploited his position of power and committed multiple acts of sexual abuse. In cooperation with a team of journalists and lawyers, Kantor and Twohey gathered statements from possible victims and confidants, facing resistance throughout their research.
The film shows how Weinstein worked to keep his activities out of the public eye.
The film also pays tribute to the women who speak to Kantor and Twohey despite having signed declarations of confidentiality.
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Triggering a worldwide movement
The painstaking research culminated inthe New York Times report titled "Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades," published on October 5, 2017, beginning with the story of actress Ashley Judd. Many more articles followed.
New York Times staff writers Megan Twohey, left, and Jodi Kantor Image: Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times/AP/picture alliance
The reports gave rise to a movement of women around the world who shared their experiences of sexualized violence, that became known in social media under the hashtag #MeToo, based on the Me Too movement launched a decade earlier by Black activist Tarana Burke.
In 2019, Kantor and Twohey's book, "She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement," hit the bookstores. Rebecca Lenkiewicz's screenplay for "She Said" is based on their work.
In 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for his offenses, including rape. He is currently on trial in another case in Los Angeles.
Maria Schrader, center, and the team from "Unorthodox" accept the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special in 2020Image: Invision for the Television Academy/AP/picture alliance
"She Said" marks Schrader's debut as a feature film director in the United States, where she is already renowned for her Emmy award-winning Netflix miniseries, "Unorthodox," about a young Jewish woman who escapes her ultra-Orthodox community in New York City for Berlin.
Schrader's work has often focused on topics related to the German-Jewish and Israeli past and present, whether as a director for "Love Life" (2007) or "Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe" (2016). She has acted in "The Giraffe" (1998), "Aimee & Jaguar" (1999) and "Rosenstrasse" (2003).
Her 2021 German-language film, "I'm Your Man," was selected as Germany's entry for the Oscars last year.
And "She Said" has already received an award, at the 2022 Montclair Film Festival (MFF) in New Jersey: The David Carr Award is a prize in commemoration of the popular New York Times columnist who died in 2015. It goes to filmmakers who focus on the truth in their work.
Maria Schrader's films, as an actor and director
Maria Schrader is not only a highly decorated actress, but also internationally known as a director. She even received an Emmy for her series "Unorthodox."
Image: Dominik Bindl/FLC/Getty Images
2022: 'She Said'
Maria Schrader's latest directorial effort is based on the nonfiction book "She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement" by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the New York Times journalists that brought down once-powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. "She Said" is the German-born director's first US feature film.
Image: RW/MPI/Capital Pictures/picture alliance
2021: 'I'm Your Man'
Schrader's previous comedy, "Ich bin dein Mensch" (I'm Your Man) was a German production that nonetheless gained notoriety beyond its borders, as the German entry for the best international film at the Oscars. The story explores the possibility of a relationship between a humanoid robot (played by Dan Stevens) and a scientist (Maren Eggert).
"Unorthodox" is Maria Schrader's first series. The title of the Netflix production refers to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn from which protagonist Esther Shapiro (Shira Haas), called "Esty," escapes. Esty's breakout from an arranged marriage leads her to Berlin, where she wants to live a freer life away from the strict community rules and study music. The series won an Emmy.
Image: Netflix/Anika Molnar
2016: 'Before Dawn'
Her second film, "Vor der Morgenröte" (Before Dawn), already revolved around a German-Jewish theme. It deals with the last years of the European writer and Jew Stefan Zweig, which he spent in exile in the United States and Brazil from 1940 onward due to persecution. Schrader (pictured here in 2007), is not Jewish herself, but got to know Israel at the age of 14 during an exchange.
Image: Transfax Film Productions/Courtesy Everett Collection/IMAGO
2007: 'Love Life'
"Love Life" is set in Israel and involves a married young academic who falls for a much older man. He conceals a secret desire for vengeance. Zeruya Shalev, who wrote the novel, was accompanied by Schrader at readings.
Image: Transfax Film Productions/Courtesy Everett Collection/IMAGO
1999: Felice Schragenheim in 'Aimee & Jaguar'
Schrader had already made a name for herself as an actress before her first directorial efforts. Prizes did come though, such as the German Film Award for her performance as Jaguar, aka Felice Schragenheim, in Max Färberböck's "Aimee & Jaguar." Schrader had worked intensively on the biography of the Jewish woman for her role.
Image: Mary Evans Archive/Zeitgeist Films/IMAGO
2020: Lenora Rauch in 'Deutschland 89'
Schrader often starred in movies which had German-Jewish themes. In the 1990s, she worked a lot with Dani Levy, her temporary partner — for "Meschugge" (1998) or "Stille Nacht" (1995), for example. But she also enhanced her credentials with her role in "Deutschland 89." In the internationally successful series, she plays an ice-cold Stasi agent, as she did in the prequels.
Her career began on the theater stage. After performing at her high school near Hanover, in 1986 Schrader transferred to the Max Reinhardt Seminar to study acting in Vienna. She went on to land TV and film roles, yet returned to the stage again and again. From 2002-2005, for example, she performed the role of Kriemhild in Dieter Wedel's "Nibelungen."
