Executives at U.K. TV channel BBC Two have commissioned a feature-length documentary about the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
In October (17), the movie mogul was hit by allegations of sexual harassment, assault or rape by multiple women in exposes published by The New York Times and The New Yorker, and more than 50 women have since come forward with similar stories.
A 90-minute film, with the working title Weinstein, has now been commissioned by BBC Two and will chart the rise and fall of the producer in order to “illuminate Hollywood’s deep-rooted sexism” and uncover how “the powerful have been able to construct a complex web of defenses to shield themselves and behave with impunity”.
The film will feature interviews from actresses who have gone on record with their alleged stories about Weinstein as well as directors, journalists, producers, lawyers and “others who have previously been unable or unwilling to talk publicly about Weinstein and the culture of fear and abuse that permeates Hollywood.”
It will also examine Hollywood as a whole and how exploitation and abuse developed with the emergence of the studio system in the 1930s.
The documentary will be produced by Lightbox, which was co-founded by Jonathan Chinn and his cousin Simon, who has previously worked on Oscar-winning documentaries Man on Wire and Searching for Sugar Man. Ursula MacFarlane, who has previously made 2017 documentary One Deadly Weekend in America and 2015’s Charlie Hebdo: Three Days that Shook Paris, will direct.
“The breaking of silence over Harvey Weinstein is a watershed moment for the creative industries and for wider society,” Patrick Holland, controller at BBC Two, said in a statement. “Ursula is a brilliant filmmaker and is perfectly placed to make the definitive documentary, piecing together the story of just how he abused his power and position.”
Weinstein has denied all accusations of non-consensual sex.
