Israeli production company to launch a #MeToo reality show

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Web Desk
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The Silence Breakers will be produced by Israeli production company Gils Formats. Photo: Gils Formats

In the aftermath of the #MeToo and the Time's Up movements, Israeli production company Gils Format will be producing an investigative series which will document sexual misconduct in the workplace via hidden cameras.

According to reports, each episode will focus on both the victim and the perpetrator, with an on-camera confrontation between the two at the end.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Assaf Gil, CEO of Gil Formats and creator of The Silence Breaker, said he hoped his show would raise public awareness of the issue of workplace harassment and “inspire others to come forward and speak up.”

“The big difference in what we are doing to what has been around on the news is that, for one, most of these incidents happened a long time ago, while we are basically shooting in real time. And a lot of the (#MeToo) stories in the news have had to do with famous people,” he says. “(But) we feel sexual harassment is a much more widespread phenomenon.... All the women we talked to in the research for this show had some sort of history of some sort of harassment”, he added.

The #MeToo movement became a global phenomenon after dozens of sexual assault and rape allegations came against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein last year. More than 70 women accused Weinstein of misconduct. Allegations were also made against public figures such as Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer, Louis CK, Kevin Spacey, Ryan Seacrest, James Toback and Russell Simmons.

Though the show comes in the wake of harassment scandals that have rocked Hollywood in recent months, Gil says the show will focus "on the crimes" and not the #MeToo movement.