Second Assault
Twelve years after being sexually assaulted on her college campus, Jillian embarks on a journey to confront the past.
Interview with Director Jillian Corsie/Amy Rosner
Watch Second Assault here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
When the Trump tapes were released in October of 2016, it pushed many sexual assault survivors to share their experiences online. Kelly Oxford, a journalist for the NY Times, tweeted and asked women to tweet her their assault stories. Within 24 hours, there were hundreds of thousands of tweets, and one of them was Jillian’s (co-director on the film). When her tweet went viral, she felt as a documentary filmmaker she could speak to some of the collective trauma that survivors were coming forward to speak about. And as a survivor, she felt that it was time to confront this part of her past, so she asked (me) Amy Rosner, a close friend and documentary filmmaker, to co-direct the film with her.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
As a society, when we talk about sexual violence, we often talk about the repercussions it has for the accused, and not the repercussions it has for the victim. And even when we do talk about the victim, he or she’s character/trustworthiness is often on trial, rather than the actions of the accused. Second Assault explores what it’s like through a survivor’s eyes to deal with trauma more than 10 years later. What makes our film different than other films is that Jillian confronts the police officer who deemed her rape consensual. This particular aspect of survivor justice is rarely talked about publicly, and even more rare is a personal confrontation between a rape survivor and the police officer who handled her case.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Second Assault is an extremely personal film as it follows Jillian on the journey to confront her rape from 12 years ago, and focuses on her anger toward the police officer who deemed the assault consensual after reporting it. What makes our film unique is its exploration of the trauma of reporting sexual violence, and what happens when survivors are not believed. While her experience is her own, we know that many survivors have also been through similar situations of not being believed. Anywhere from being told your assault was consensual to going on trial, to being called a liar, and having your character assassinated. All of these experiences speak to how society has a very difficult time believing and validating women’s experiences, and what this does to extend the effects of trauma for many years.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
In documentary filmmaking, the story is written in the edit, because there is no script. You just have to see what unfolds on camera. Our film went through many different versions as we sorted out what the arc of the story really was. Documentaries have a way of telling you exactly what they need to be - it just takes patience and an open mind to start crafting the story it’s supposed to be and not necessarily the story you want it to be. Ultimately, we decided to focus on the trauma of not being believed.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Our audiences have been wonderfully supportive and incredibly engaging in our Q and A’s. To be honest, we were bracing ourselves for some really tough (and possibly offensive) questions, but every screening has been such an empowering experience. Our most memorable moment was when a woman in her 50’s told us “your generation is giving our generation the validation we never had.”
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I think the feedback has surprised us in how supportive everyone has been. In many ways, I think it challenged what we assumed would be the typical response -- particularly from men. It’s been a great lesson in seeing how social media, trolls and online harassment can really skew your view and expectations of in-person conversation. It gives us a massive amount of hope to see how many uncomfortable, yet incredibly engaging conversations we are able to have in a room full of mixed ages, genders, and races about sexual assault.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We want as many eyes as possible on this film so that we can contribute to the larger dialogue around assault, rape culture, consent, and what survivor justice looks like.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Currently, we would like as many people as possible to have access to the film, so we are looking for a high-traffic digital platform where the film can live and be viewed for free.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Because survivors are often not given the validation they need from their community or the justice system, we want this film to be utilized as a tool for activists, organizations, and educators who are doing the hard work on the ground to fight for social change.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Why do we have such a hard time believing rape survivors?
Interview: August 2018
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Second Assault
Twelve years after being sexually assaulted on her college campus, Jillian embarks on a journey to confront the past.
Length: 18:34
Director: Jillian Corsie/Amy Rosner
AMY ROSNER (co-director/editor) edited and wrote the 2017 Oscar shortlisted documentary, The Other Side of Home, as well as the Emmy award-winning documentary series, Wonder Women. She has also won numerous awards for Second Assault.
JILLIAN CORSIE (co-director/producer) directed the award-winning documentary Trichster and is currently editing a feature length documentary about musicians in the Basque country, bla bla bla. (Dont say title bc it will probably change?). She has also won numerous awards for Second Assault.
Social media handles: @jilliancorsie @amyrosner1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SecondAssaultDoc
Funders: Seedandspark.com
Made in association with: SeedandSpark, Cinefemme
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? We’ll be playing next at the Detroit Shetown Film Festival and have other upcoming festivals we can’t yet name!