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‘Spotlight:’ My Personal Take, by Globe Reporter Matt Carroll

In Feature Stories by PhilSaviano

NOVEMBER 2015 | HUFFINGTON POST — I’m one of the journalists portrayed in the movie Spotlight, which was recently released. It follows our team of investigative reporters at The Boston Globe as we slowly uncover decades of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and the systemic coverups of the misdeeds by their superiors. We’ve been to screenings in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles. The experience has been everything you might expect it — great and wonderful and, frankly, a little weird.
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With ‘Spotlight,’ Victims of Child Sex Abuse by Catholic Priests Feel Empowered

In Feature Stories by PhilSaviano

Feb. 23, 2016 | LOS ANGELES TIMES — Since “Spotlight’s” November release, many abuse survivors and relatives have felt empowered to share their own harrowing stories — some for the first time. They’ve also been enlisted to join in the movie’s awards season campaign by Open Road Films and Participant Media (the companies that produced and financed the picture), helping to underscore its societal influence.
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Shtumi in the Spotlight: How to Turn an Info-Heavy Story Into Riveting Drama

In Feature Stories by PhilSaviano

NOVEMBER 2015 | MOVIEMAKER — “Condensing true-life stories into screenplays is hard. I’ve spent the past dozen years trying to figure out how to do it and I’ve still got lots to learn. Part of the secret to making talky, information-heavy movies cinematic is making sure the talk you do have is as clear and concise as possible. I’ll get specific on that in a second. First I have to talk about shtumi.”
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“Spotlight” and Its Revelations

In Feature Stories by PhilSaviano

DECEMBER 2015 | THE NEW YORKER — “Since seeing the movie “Spotlight,” about the Boston Globe investigation of sexual abuse and coverups in the Catholic Church, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and the questions it raises—about how far institutions will go to protect themselves, about who we listen to and protect, about who and what we ignore, about the power of disclosure and even conversation.”
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Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse Discuss How ‘Spotlight’ Portrayed Their Trauma

In Feature Stories by PhilSaviano

October 2015 | BOSTON GLOBE — “Ann Hagan Webb didn’t expect to get emotional while watching Spotlight for the first time. As a survivor of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest, she had already lived through the events depicted in the film. But Webb found herself feeling completely overwhelmed as she observed how The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team of investigative journalists personally reacted to uncovering the systemic problem of clergy sexual abuse.”
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For ‘Spotlight,’ Actors Portrayed Hunters Chasing Predators

In Feature Stories, Spotlight-movie by PhilSaviano

October 30, 2015 | NY TIMES — “Working from a cramped, dingy office, a scrappy band of journalists exposes the Archdiocese of Boston’s decades-long cover-up of sexual abuse of children by scores of priests. Definitely an investigation worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, which the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team won for that 2002 series. But fodder for a Hollywood film?”
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