Screams Before Silence
Promotional poster
Hebrew	זעקות ואז שתיקה
Directed by	Anat Stalinsky
Cinematography	Shahar Reznik Nir Maman
Edited by	Tal Hake Shimon Spektor Nadav Tamir
Music by	Roy Nassee
Release date	April 26, 2024 (2024-04-26) (YouTube)
Country	Israel
Language	Hebrew

Screams Before Silence is a documentary film led by American businesswomanSheryl Sandberg, that explores thesexual violence perperated by Hamas members during theOctober 7 attacks, including events at theNova music festival massacre and abductions ofhostages into theGaza Strip.^[1] The film was released onYouTube^[2][3] on 26 April 2024.^[4] Sandberg has described the film as the most important work of her life.^[5] In 2024, it was nominated inIsrael for anOphir Award for Best Short Documentary.^[6] The film has been criticized for its use of the New York Times article,Screams Without Words.

The film was directed byAnat Stalinsky withcinematographer Sasha Gavrikov^[3] and led by Sheryl Sandberg. Shooting took place in February 2024. One of the participants in the film isAmit Soussana^[7] who was abducted to Gaza and freed in thehostage release deal in November 2023. She described thesexual assault she experienced while being held byHamas.^[8] Additionally, the film includes testimonies by members ofZAKA and other witnesses aboutrape andsexual assaults during the massacre at the Nova Festival and in other places inIsrael where the attack took place.^[9][10]

On 5 May 2024, the film was aired in Israel on various channels, includingHOT,yes,Cellcom andPartner.^[10] The film was screened in the U.S. capitol for American lawmakers^[11] and at the White House.^[12]

Bret Stephens wrote about the film inThe New York Times, noting its powerful impact: "To watchScreams Before Silence is to be disabused of any lingering doubts about what Hamas did. The personal testimonies of victims, survivors and witnesses are clear and overpowering, as is the photographic evidence Sandberg was shown of mutilated corpses. And some of them have scarcely been heard about outside Israel."^[13]

Briahna Joy Gray criticized the film, saying that it relies on "debunked" reporting such as theNew York Times' "Screams Without Words" article.^[14][15]Ryan Grim criticized the film's reliance oncoerced interrogation videos and cast doubt on the evidence and conclusions in the documentary.^[16]TheWrap film critic Elizabeth Weitzman called the film hard to watch and that it needed atrigger warning, but praised the "immensely powerful job" done by the director in telling the story ofOctober 7.^[17]

In June 2024,Donald Trump urged people to see the film, writing on social media that it is "...incredibly difficult to watch because, sadly, it graphically portrays the Death and Destruction that Hamas has unleashed."^[18][19]

In August 2024, the film was nominated for Best Short Documentary at Israel'sOphir Awards.^[20][6]

• Bearing Witness

• Screams Before Silence atIMDb
• Shani Littman,'We're Dealing With a Sexual Shoah as It's Happening',Haaretz, May 6, 2024
• Screams Before Silence onYouTube

• 2024 films
• 2024 documentary films
• Documentary films about the October 7 attacks
• Gaza war hostage crisis
• Israeli documentary films
• Documentary films about jihadism
• Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
• Documentary films about rape
• Documentary films about women in war
• Palestinian political violence
• War crimes
• 2024 Israeli films

• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• CS1 Hebrew-language sources (he)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia extended-confirmed-protected pages
• Use dmy dates from June 2024
• Pages using infobox name module with conflicting parameters
• Template film date with 1 release date