Directors Geeta Gandbhir (r) and Trish Adlesic (l) talk about I Am Evidence with duPont Director Lisa R. Cohen
“We really made the film for survivors. And if the film didn't serve the people we interviewed, then we weren't doing our jobs very well.”
In this episode of On Assignment, we talk to Trish Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir, directors of the HBO documentary: I Am Evidence. Produced by Law & Order: SVU’s Mariska Hargitay, I Am Evidence follows four sexual assault survivors on their quest for justice while investigating an outrageous national backlog: hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits.
Adlesic and Gandbhir talk critical lessons learned while asking sexual violence survivors to share their story — like providing the right setting; doing your homework ahead of time; and creative ways to come up with the right questions. And hear what prompted a celebrated actress to push hard for this years-in-the-making documentary.
I Am Evidence won a 2019 duPont-Columbia Award for its intimate storytelling and investigative reporting, a notable award in the #MeToo era. Since the film premiered in April, twelve states have put forward legislation to count, track and test rape kits.
So be sure to listen. Then learn more about untested rape kits from Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation. And watch I Am Evidence on HBO Go or HBO Now.
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