'Mari Gilbert Was So Powerless, But Would Not Be Stopped': Miriam Shor On Netflix's 'Lost Girls'

(CBS Local)-- Miriam Shor has played a lot different roles in her career, but few have been as important as the one she played in the new Netflix movie "Lost Girls."

The film from director Liz Garbus stars Amy Ryan and tells the story of the disappearance of a 24-year-old woman named Shannan Gilbert and how that re-opened the search for the Long Island Serial Killer in Suffolk County.

"I was talking with Amy Ryan about how difficult it is to watch this movie because of the subject matter," said Shor in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "We were playing real people and the onus was on us telling the story. We shined the spotlight on this idea when a victim doesn't fit a certain criteria... that we can discount them. If they are female and of a socioeconomic class, they don't matter as much. In this case, they were sex workers and referred to as prostitutes. I think part of the reason was to compartmentalize them and say they're at risk people and we're safe. And part of it is that we discredit people because of their gender and socioeconomic class or race and it's something we do as a society."

FULL INTERVIEW:

"Lost Girls" is streaming on Netflix now. Shor loves that this film starts out as a true-crime drama and then shifts to focusing on the voices of the victims and the families of those impacted. Shor and the cast had the opportunity to watch the film with some of the women they portrayed and said it was an experience she will never forget.

"I came away thinking why are we so obsessed with true crime and it forced me to look at that," said Shor. "It turned that genre on its head. You can feel very powerless these days and I am one of those people that feels like I don't have a voice. Being reminded of this character in Mari Gilbert that was so powerless and so overlooked, but would not stop. She would not be silenced. This group of women had to be heard and were heard. Their bond is so strong and so important and helped their voices be heard. Community is so important and these women found a power and they cared about each other when they were getting nothing from people around them. Watching the movie with some of these women was profound and so deeply sad and moving. Every emotion you'd feel watching this movie was heightened."