EXCLUSIVE: Sheryl Sandberg is fronting a documentary about sexual atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7.
The former COO of Meta and founder of LeanIn.org is presenting Screams Before Silence from Israeli doc maker Kastina Communications, which will focus on “women and girls who were raped, assaulted, and mutilated in a brutal rampage of gender-based violence.”
In the one-hour doc, which launches in April, Sandberg will interview released hostages and eyewitnesses to the terrifying October 7 Hamas attack at the Supernova Music Festival, the catalyst for a war that is still raging four months on.
Sandberg will also speak to first responders, and medical and forensic experts, as she tries to answer questions around why “many leading figures have attempted to minimize the attacks on women despite a whole wealth of evidence that they occurred.”
Sandberg has been vocal on the subject since November, penning a CNN op-ed that said “rape should never be used as an act of war,” speaking at the UN alongside October 7 witnesses and meeting with government leaders in the UK, France and Germany to call upon the international community to investigate Hamas’ crimes as crimes against humanity.
“For the victims and eyewitnesses who survived, we must demand justice and hold their tormentors and rapists accountable for these crimes against humanity,” she said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the world-renowned team at Kastina Communications to shine a light on the sexual violence committed by Hamas.”
International distribution for Scream Before Silence is currently under discussion. It is being produced with funding from philanthropists Carol and Joey Low. Low, founder of Star Farm Ventures, and Meny Aviram, CEO of Kastina, approached Sandberg in December and production began almost immediately.
Sandberg was Mark Zuckerberg’s long-time number two at Meta and stepped down two years ago. Last month, she left the company’s board.
Numerous fast-turnaround docs have already been made about October 7 including shows from yes TV, Bad Boys producer Sipur, Gebrueder Beetz Produktion (now Beetz Brothers) and Duki Dror’s Zygote Films.
