Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age

In 2017, the #MeToo hashtag shook the world, sparking an unprecedented wave of sexual assault revelations in the Western world. Today, the storm of virulent misogyny is raging on, flooding our screens with harassment, defamation, sextortion, revenge porn, rape & death threats, and more. According to the UN, 73% of women are abused online.

Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age plunges us into the vortex of online misogyny and documents hatred towards women. This bleak opus, reminiscent of a psychological thriller, follows four women across two continents who have found themselves victims of vile online threats and harrassment. What is it like to live with this so-called virtual violence? That’s what we aim to show by closely following the victims in their daily lives. As in a horror movie, we witness in real time the waves of hate that assail them, the fear that pervades their private lives, and the loss of their sense of security in public spaces.

Their lives shattered by a loss of confidence, and sometimes shame, Backlash reveals the devastating effects digital violence has on their victims, and brings to light the singular objective of cyber-misogyny: to silence women who shine.

Many victims of cyber-violence experience unimaginable horrors, with results too tragic for words. Others, proud warriors, will stand tall and refuse to be silenced.

Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End

We find Mr. Fish, who once had success creating compelling, outrageous editorial cartoons, as his profession is dying out.

Editors who previously backed his controversial work are disappearing as fast as the newspapers which once employed him. Can an outspoken artist raise a family and maintain his unique defiant voice?

This intimate documentary follows the artist as he struggles to stay true to his creativity in a world where biting satiric humour has an ever-diminishing commercial value. Mr Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End examines the compromises a radical artist makes (or refuses to make).

 

“A stubbornly amiable film about a compulsively provocative talent, “Mr. Fish” ponders the outer limits of editorial cartooning in an age where there’s arguably more fodder for such commentary than ever… 

to further offset the queasiness that Mr. Fish’s images often generate, Bryant lends his well-crafted feature a bright, playful, even antic tenor, painting his subject as a lovable eccentric rather than a tortured artist.”
Variety

“The film hit my heart and brain with such velocity that it literally made me sit on the edge of my seat”
Ain’t It Cool News