Trigger Warning: Discussion of sexual assault and suicide.
The first trailer for Audrie & Daisy was released today, and gives a look into what will no doubt be an enraging and heart-breaking film. The documentary follows the stories of Daisy Coleman and Audrie Pott, two teenage girls from different cities who were assaulted in 2012.
Netflix provides this synopsis:
Two different girls sexually assaulted on two different nights, in two different towns. Audrie & Daisy takes a hard look at the issues faced by America’s teenagers who are coming of age in the new world of social media bullying, spun wildly out of control.
Jezebel provides some more background, explaining that after Coleman reported an assault by the grandson of a former state representative, harassment forced her family to move and their house was burned down. An eventual reinvestigation caused her attacker, Matthew Barnett, to plead guilty to a smaller charge (second-degree endangerment of a welfare of a child, for abandoning an unconscious Coleman). Barnett was then sentenced to two years probation.
Pott’s story centers largely around the harassment she faced after the photos of her assault by three boys circulated. She committed suicide not long after this experience. These three boys appear in the documentary as part of a civil suit settlement with her parents.
The documentary, directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, traces not only the ways that rape culture hurt these girls, but also how social media has exacerbated “the larger societal epidemic of sexual assault.” In the trailer, we see a clip of Anonymous’ involvement in Coleman’s case, a sheriff saying, “No nice way to say it, they’re liars,” and huge string of news clips.
While this documentary will no doubt be upsetting, frustrating, and infuriating to watch, it ends with a call to action for people to speak out against assault and in support of survivors. You can catch the film in theaters or stream it September 23.
(via Jezebel, image via screencap)
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