This week's Hyde Park Pick

Film is an incredibly powerful, and accessible, tool in the eternal struggle to make abuses of power public. When public, abuse can become easier to challenge, to fight and ultimately to prevent, as well as making the pursuit of justice more possible.

Documentary film in particular has a long history of helping hold to account, or shine a light on, the actions of people and institutions who too often feel impenetrable. At the extreme, laws have been changed off the back of advocacy films. Just as importantly these works have helped victims or those impacted by acts of abuse feel less alone in the consequences of that abuse. 

Another Body is an important, if at times difficult to watch, piece of filmmaking which should be celebrated as part of this long history of utilising art to support social justice. The film follows American college student Taylor’s search for answers and justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online.

Picking apart the discovery and the ramifications, it would be easy for a film like this to feel like one more story about the use of sex to dehumanise and terrorize women. However, pushing past that, the film endeavours to take Taylor’s story forward, to show how she worked to bring to light the abuse she has experienced, and in doing so, to understand the structures and critically the technology which facilitates that abuse.

Essential in navigating this sensitively and in a way that foregrounds Taylor's own voice whilst also protecting her, is the work of co-directors, Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn. Led by trauma informed practice and with a background in advocacy and activist work, Compton and Hamlyn are filmmakers to be grateful for – and we’d encourage as many of you possible to see this powerful and important piece of cinema when it screens next week.

Another Body plays at HPPH on Tuesday 6 February at 18:30. More details about the film and tickets are available here.

For more information on your rights, and support around deepfake pornography, you can:

• Reach out to the Revenge Porn Helpline (call 0345 6000 459 or email help@revengepornhelpline.org.uk), who can offer emotional support and advice on next steps.
• Contact Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse, who will help you create a case for having the images removed. They have a 90% success rate of having revenge porn images taken down.
• Take screenshots as evidence and if you are comfortable doing so, report what has happened to the police. If the perpetrator is known, there may already be grounds for the authorities to get in touch with them.