Sundance Winner Marc Silver To Direct ‘Molly Vs The Machines’ About Tragic Death Of British Teen Molly Russell Following Exposure To Harmful Online Content

Andreas Wiseman

16 November 2023 at 8:19 am·3-min read

EXCLUSIVE: Sundance winner Marc Silver, known for documentaries 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets and Who Is Dayani Cristal?, is set to chronicle the story of British teen Molly Russell, who died from an act of self-harm while suffering depression and the negative effects of online content.

Molly Vs The Machines, from UK companies Snowstorm Productions and Storyboard Studios, with backing from Luminate, Bertha Doc Society, Screen Scotland, The Filmmaker Fund and Ethical Alliance, is due to start production next spring.

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Two-time Sundance winner and Emmy-nominee Marc Silver will make the film in collaboration with Shoshana Zuboff, Harvard professor and author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.

Russell was tragically found dead in the bedroom of her London family home on the morning of November 21, 2017. Neither her family, friends or teachers could initially explain why she had taken her own life. Over five traumatic years, Ian Russell, Molly’s father, and lawyer Merry Varney, worked to uncover how the negative effects of online content had led to her death.

A UK coroner last year concluded that the images of self-harm and suicide Russell viewed “shouldn’t have been available for a child to see.” The case sparked national headlines and led to Prince William calling for more online safety measures. The UK government has subsequently introduced new legislation regarding online safety, which remains a key issue for families and governments globally amid the rise and rise of social media and online sharing platforms.

The filmmakers are working closely with the Russell family.

Kat Mansoor is producing for Snowstorm, and Natalie Humphreys for Storyboard, with Minette Nelson attached as executive producer. The team also includes artist and stage designer Es Devlin, editor Emiliano Battista and impact strategist Tanya O’Carroll, with visual effects by ScanLAB Projects.

Silver previously won a Sundance Special Jury Prize for 2015 doc 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets about gun crime, the justice system and race in America, and won a cinematography award at Sundance for 2013 doc Who Is Dayani Cristal? starring Gael Garcia Bernal.

Marc Silver, director and producer, said: “By blending my creative ambition with Shoshana’s unparalleled depth of knowledge, we illuminate the tragic implications of ‘surveillance capitalism’ for global audiences. Molly Russell embodied this crisis and it led to her suicide. The film acts as a stark warning to all of us navigating the digital age.”

Ian Russell, Molly’s father and chair of the Molly Rose Foundation, commented: “Just as Molly would have wanted, it is important to seek to learn whatever we can and then to take all necessary action to prevent such a young life being wasted again. Her life mattered and her place in the world will remain as important as it always was.”

Author Shoshana Zuboff added: “Molly vs the Machines investigates a young girl’s death-by-algorithm to reveal the sweep of surveillance capitalism’s atrocities across these last decades and all that has fallen: privacy, human autonomy, truth, the strength of democratic institutions, and our very faith in democracy.”

Tanya O’Carroll, impact strategist, said: “We need nothing short of an overhaul in the way social media platforms operate and generate revenue, to bring an end to predatory addiction-algorithms. We hope Molly’s story will connect and empower young people to lead the movement for change.”

Elise Tillet, Lead Campaigns and Media, Luminate Strategic Initiatives, noted: “This is the story of a girl’s struggle against giant tech corporations who monetise attention by any means necessary, revealing to the world that these business decisions have a real and terrible cost. This is one of the major stories of our time, and Luminate believes it can empower us all to bring about lasting change and safer, happier online lives.”

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