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The Linor Documentary

Miss World 1998 attempts to heal from a violent attack and rape by reaching out to other survivors.

Film – Los Angeles, California, United States

Two more hours of this campaign!  We started shooting 3 years ago today, when Linor first decided to start speaking out in public.  She launched the website and held a press conference to announce her travels to speak to and meet other survivors around the world, and we were there filming it in Tel Aviv.  So much has happened since then and one of the greatest things of all has been this IndieGoGo site and the group of supporters who reached out to help us finish the film.  We're not saying goodbye to you!  Please follow our progress on facebook: Linor Documentary Project.  If you're not on fb, please go to www.linordocumentary.com

We'll keep you posted--you're all part of it now! We have exciting news about a grant that we just won, but we're not allowed to announce it until next week.  So please check fb and the website for this and other news. 

With much love from The Linor Documentary Team: Linor, Cecilia, Inbal, Orna, Lati, Georgi, Elisa, Sara, Kate, Alessia, Martine & MOTTY


For those discovering this campaign:

One in four women worldwide will be a victim of rape or sexual assault.   This means that most likely, you or someone you know, is a survivor.   By clicking on Contribute Now in the green box, you can help people all over the world--maybe yourself, and maybe people close to you--start to heal.
 
Your contribution to the Linor Documentary will help finish a film that follows Linor Abargil, Miss World 1998, as she attempts to heal from a violent attack and rape by reaching out to other survivors.  You've never met anyone like Linor.  Her determination and strength will awe and inspire you.  Watch the trailer, above, to see for yourself.

We've completed shooting and are close to a rough cut.  We're seeking post-production funding so we can present the film to interested distributors.  We've just reached our initial campaign goal.  Whatever we raise beyond that will take us to the next stage of the film, which is our fine cut and the rest of post.

Every amount and every person can help.  Many lives have already been changed by this film.  Click on the Updates tab to see videos from survivors who have been part of the film, and to read a personal letter from Linor.  Please visit the "Comments" section for more reactions to the project.

Your donation, combined with our passionate and experienced team, can and will make a big difference.  Thank you so much for your support of this important film, and please Like our campaign, above.


Our Story

Beauty queen Linor Abargil was attacked and raped in Milan, Italy at the age of 18.  Six weeks later and still in trauma, she represented Israel in the Miss World Competition.  To her shock, she was crowned the winner, the only Miss Israel ever to win.  Believing that her rape and winning the crown both happened for a reason, she resolved to one day take action.  At the time she fought to put the rapist behind bars and he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.  After the trial, Linor needed time to heal.

Today, Linor is about to graduate from law school and is speaking out about her rape to encourage other survivors not to stay silent and not to blame themselves.  She has been working with victims of stranger rape, acquaintance rape, domestic rape, college campus rape, and rape with the use of drugs.  But dealing with the violent trauma she buried long ago has brought up painful memories.  Linor has given filmmaker Cecilia Peck ("Shut Up & Sing") exclusive access to her life, as she travels to speak and meet with survivors around the world, and faces her own fears and demons.


The Impact

Miss World (wt) has the potential to ignite conversation, raise awareness and radically alter the way we perceive and deal with sexual violence and its aftermath.  Unfortunately, Linor's traumatic experience is not an anomaly.  With your help, this film can serve as a window of hope and healing for the millions of victims worldwide.

What We Need 

We've made our first two television pre-sales and have had the help of incredibly supportive investors and donors, but we're still short of our goal.  $20,000 will enable us to complete editing the film.  We have interest from distributors and are confident in being able to secure distribution, submit the film to festivals, and release it in 2012, allowing Linor's message to serve as a source of strength for rape victims everywhere.  

What You Get

Please check out our wonderful Perks to see what you'd like to receive, and click on the Contribute Now button in the green box on the Upper Right.

*** For a different option to make your contribution tax-deductible, please click here.  But we'd prefer you to Contribute Now in the green box, so we can reach our goal on this Site.  Thank you!


Other Ways You Can Help

If you believe in our project but can't make a donation at this time, please spread the word with any of the social networking 'share' tools below.  For more information on Miss World, go to http://www.linordocumentary.com/  and Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/linordocumentary

 Thank you!


Our Team

Cecilia Peck - (Director/Producer) has always been drawn to stories of individuals who stand up for their beliefs.  She directed and produced, with Barbara Kopple, 'Shut Up & Sing,' which was shortlisted for the 2007 Academy Awards, won Best Documentary at the Aspen, Sydney, Woodstock Film Festivals, and Special Jury Prize at the Toronto and Chicago Film Festivals.  It was named Best Documentary by the Boston and San Diego Film Critics Societies, and won the Courage in Film Award from the Women's Film Critics Circle among others.  Cecilia produced 'A Conversation with Gregory Peck,' an intimate portrait of her father, which premiered as a Special Selection at the Cannes Film Festival.  She is a graduate of Princeton University. 

Contact: Cecilia@linordocumentary.com


Motty Reif - (Producer)  is a co-partner of Abot Reif Hameiri, one of the leading production companies in Israel.  ARH produces many of Israel's highest rated non-fiction programs, including the local versions of the Reality TV formats Survivor (winner of the 2008 Israeli Emmy Award for Best Reality Show), The Bachelor, Beauty and the Geek and others.  The Los Angeles branch of the company produced the award winning Showtime documentary "Life After Tomorrow."  Motty met Linor when she was 16 years old and they began a friendship and professional partnership that carried through the difficult months following her rape that eventually led to this project. 


Inbal B. Lessner - (Producer/Editor) edited and co-produced the internationally acclaimed �I Have Never Forgotten You� about Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, in 2007.  Her career reflects her passion for social justice and women's issues.  She directed a docudrama for the Women�s Entertainment Network, was second-unit producer on the HBO/ARTE documentary �Watermarks� about the women swimmers of the pre-WWII Hakoach Vienna Jewish athletic club, and was an editing consultant on the PBS Emmy-winner �Be Good, Smile Pretty.�  Other credits include editing �If I Die Tonight� (feature doc about police brutality), �Shock Act,� about a death row experiment (Best Narrative Short winner at Tribeca and Chicago film festivals), and the independent feature �The Elephant King�.  She received her BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Contact: inbal@linordocumentary.com


Elisa Bonora - (Co-Producer/Editor) began her career in advertising, editing prestigious campaigns for Pepsi, Apple, Nike, Sony, Hallmark, and Levi's.  Her strength in dialogue and storytelling, and her capacity to create an intense atmosphere and elegant moods won her many awards.  In 2003 she edited Comandante, a feature-length documentary on Fidel Castro, for Oliver Stone. She then collaborated with Pietro Scalia on editing "Ashes and Snow.� She edited and co-produced the feature length doc, Laszlo and Vilmos, No Subtitles Necessary, nominated for an Emmy in 2010.  In 2009 she edited �South of the Border� another feature length documentary directed by Oliver Stone, which premiered at the Venice Film festival September 2009.


Lati Grobman - (Executive Producer) is a successful Hollywood producer with many titles to her credit including Righteous Kill (starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino), Run for the Money (starring Christian Slater and Val Kilmer), Relative Strangers (starring Ron Livingston, Danny De Vito and Kathy Bates), The Tenant (starring Dylan McDermott and Snoop Dog), Cleaner (starring Samuel Jackson and Ed Harris), Blonde Ambition (starring Jessica Simpson and Luke Wilson,) among others.


Howard Rosenman - Executive Producer

Orna Raiz-Raviv � Execuitve Producer

 

John Battsek � Advisor

Team on This Campaign: