What She Said. Written by Jenny Lester. Directed by Amy Northup. PHD candidate, Sam, should be nearly finished with her dissertation. Instead, she’s spent the last year in and out of court pursuing charges against her rapist. When she receives news that the trial is postponed yet again, Sam heads to her family’s remote cabin in the Virginia woods, effectively ghosting everyone in her life. A few days before Thanksgiving, Sam’s oasis is interrupted as her brother comes barging in with Sam’s closest friends in tow, to stage a pseudo-intervention and convince her to return to the city and finish out the trial. Also starring Juliana Jurenas and Britt Michael Gordon.
Jenny Lester said of writing and starring in WHAT SHE SAID: “It is frustrating that in most portrayals of survivorship, we learn what someone has been through instead of who they are. As more and more women started sharing their stories (often anonymously) online over the past few years, the question that kept itching in my mind was, “Who was this woman before this event that is now synonymous with her identity? Who is she now as she picks herself back up and returns to her life?” I wanted to focus on what is hopefully a very human story about a deeply nuanced and often flawed woman and her messy, misstepping, well-meaning chosen family that raillies around her. Putting together a predominantly female, enby, and queer crew and creative team was absolutely paramount.”
Amy Northup said of her directorial debut: “The ways we consume media affects how we see the world around us, and if the stories of sexual assault we see are homogenous, limited, and singular. It is infinitely hard to see the layers of impact, to believe the people in our actual lives who come forward and say this happened to me. When all we see is perfect victimhood we turn around and demand it. This film, for us, was one version of a story that won’t meet that demand.”
Don’t miss ‘What She Said’ available on digital platforms now.
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