Hold Me Right Film

Hold Me Right Film

A filmmaker tries to cope with the aftermath of her own sexual assault while filming first-hand testimonies ––ranging from a nurse that performed her own rape kit to a pedophile molested as a child. Hold Me Right follows both survivors and perpetrators through the harrowing journey of speaking up, healing, and moving forward.

CNN https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/29/world/sexual-assault-survivor-film-lessons-gender-steinfeld-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

NEW YORK TIMES https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/movies/danijela-stajnfeld-hold-me-right.html

VARIETY https://variety.com/2020/film/news/sarajevo-danijela-stajnfeld-hold-me-right-producer-mike-lerner-1234735109/


Modern Times Review https://www.moderntimes.review/a-serbian-survivor-finds-solidarity-in-stories/

Sarajevo Times
http://www.sarajevotimes.com/films-competing-for-audentia-award-for-the-best-director/


Cineuropa
https://cineuropa.org/en/video/391162/

Interview with Sarajevo TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Buq_kYbnocE

Interview with Danijela for Radio BiH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfe03BTeT-4&t=2s

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Hold Me Right, while a film about bringing together voices from across all levels of society, is my story as well. As an immigrant to the United States and a former celebrated actress in my home country of Serbia, I bring a unique perspective to what it means for a survivor of sexual assault to find peace through accessing their own voice. I have experienced trauma both at home and in the US but because of the dangerous political situation in Serbia, it is not safe for me to speak the details of what happened to me.

However, through countless interviews with survivors like myself I have been able to move through the veil of silence that has surrounded me and have managed to help others share their stories along the way. Because of my personal experience I have been able to collect intimate testimonies from survivors, and perpetrators, of these violent crimes. My choice to approach all of my subjects with compassion, even when I didn’t think I would be able to, has allowed me to collect untold stories from those who had never come forward or spoken out before.

Along with my intent to humanize these voices and create a space for people to be heard, away from sensationalism, experts, judges, juries, and statistics, I have made it my goal to incorporate the voices of perpetrators of sexual assault. By placing these interviews side by side with survivors (where often the lines are blurred), without enabling the labels of victims and monsters, I aim to move away from our culture’s obsession with punishing the bad guys and instead I create a unique portrait of the cost of silence and the vicious cycle of violence that it enables.