Second Assault

For 12 years, Jillian has been afraid to speak out about her sexual assault after the trauma of reporting it to the police. But in the wake of the “Trump Tapes” and the rising tide of misogyny, she faces her greatest fears head on, embarking on a journey to confront the system that failed her.

 

PROJECT SYNOPSIS:

Twelve years ago, Jillian was sexually assaulted during her first month at college. Having just turned 18, and thoroughly unprepared for dealing with law enforcement or the criminal justice system, she experienced a life altering encounter with the police after reporting her assault. In this short documentary, we follow Jillian’s journey as she confronts not only the trauma she experienced from the assault, but the fallout from the failure of the university and law enforcement to protect her.

 

MISSION OF PROJECT:

Even though we both love narrative filmmaking, we felt very strongly that Jillian’s story needed to be told through the documentary lens. Through narrative writing it can be challenging not to make one woman’s experience define every woman’s experience. Jillian’s story feels more powerful and unfiltered in a raw documentary style. Each assault survivor has both unique and similar stories, but it is important to let Jillian have a safe space to explore her story as it happened to her.

This film is critical for us for many reasons. Jillian has spent years hiding her story, struggling with depression, anxiety, and feeling alone in her experience. For the past twelve years, she had barely talked about it because so many people in her life did not believe her. But throughout the filmmaking process she has found that in talking about it she has freed herself from fear. She hopes that by sharing her story, other women can feel less alone, while on a broader level, we hope to expose how flawed our justice system is when handling sexual assault cases and why the process of women reporting sexual assault is often referred to as the “second assault.”

 

BIOS:

AMY ROSNER/CO-DIRECTOR: Amy Rosner has been editing, writing, and directing documentaries for the past 7 years. She 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 worked on a wide variety of documentary films and series, as well as had films play in top festivals around the world. Last year, she was the Showrunner for the one of the first ever Virtual Reality News shows, “The Big Picture” (made in partnership with RYOT and Hulu). She is currently the Senior Development Producer at RYOT Films in Los Angeles, CA.

JILLIAN CORSIE/CO-DIRECTOR: Jillian Corsie is a documentary director and editor who tells stories about social issues with a special focus on their impact on women. Her debut feature documentary, Trichster , launched on iTunes in the Spring of 2016 under “new and noteworthy docs” and sold out screenings at it’s premiere at the Soho International Film Festival the previous year. She is currently the Lead Editor at TBWA/Chiat Agency and has worked in New York and Los Angeles at a variety of boutique postproduction shops for the past 6 years. Jillian was awarded “Best Young Filmmaker 2015” from Los Angeles Center Studios and she continues to make films exploring hidden identities, with a particular focus on women’s stories.

 

DONATE TO THIS PROJECT:

Cinefemme's Federal Tax EIN Number is 52-237-4579.  Our address is 1014 Broadway #477 in Santa Monica, CA.  Donations to this project can be made via the donation button above, through a charitable fund, or by check.  Checks should be made out to Cinefemme and have "Second Assault" written in the memo section.  Checks must be mailed to:

Cinefemme

1014 Broadway #477

Santa Monica, CA  90401

Second Assault

For 12 years, Jillian has been afraid to speak out about her sexual assault after the trauma of reporting it to the police. But in the wake of the “Trump Tapes” and the rising tide of misogyny, she faces her greatest fears head on, embarking on a journey to confront the system that failed her.

 

PROJECT SYNOPSIS:

Twelve years ago, Jillian was sexually assaulted during her first month at college. Having just turned 18, and thoroughly unprepared for dealing with law enforcement or the criminal justice system, she experienced a life altering encounter with the police after reporting her assault. In this short documentary, we follow Jillian’s journey as she confronts not only the trauma she experienced from the assault, but the fallout from the failure of the university and law enforcement to protect her.

 

MISSION OF PROJECT:

Even though we both love narrative filmmaking, we felt very strongly that Jillian’s story needed to be told through the documentary lens. Through narrative writing it can be challenging not to make one woman’s experience define every woman’s experience. Jillian’s story feels more powerful and unfiltered in a raw documentary style. Each assault survivor has both unique and similar stories, but it is important to let Jillian have a safe space to explore her story as it happened to her.

This film is critical for us for many reasons. Jillian has spent years hiding her story, struggling with depression, anxiety, and feeling alone in her experience. For the past twelve years, she had barely talked about it because so many people in her life did not believe her. But throughout the filmmaking process she has found that in talking about it she has freed herself from fear. She hopes that by sharing her story, other women can feel less alone, while on a broader level, we hope to expose how flawed our justice system is when handling sexual assault cases and why the process of women reporting sexual assault is often referred to as the “second assault.”

 

BIOS:

AMY ROSNER/CO-DIRECTOR: Amy Rosner has been editing, writing, and directing documentaries for the past 7 years. She 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 worked on a wide variety of documentary films and series, as well as had films play in top festivals around the world. Last year, she was the Showrunner for the one of the first ever Virtual Reality News shows, “The Big Picture” (made in partnership with RYOT and Hulu). She is currently the Senior Development Producer at RYOT Films in Los Angeles, CA.

JILLIAN CORSIE/CO-DIRECTOR: Jillian Corsie is a documentary director and editor who tells stories about social issues with a special focus on their impact on women. Her debut feature documentary, Trichster , launched on iTunes in the Spring of 2016 under “new and noteworthy docs” and sold out screenings at it’s premiere at the Soho International Film Festival the previous year. She is currently the Lead Editor at TBWA/Chiat Agency and has worked in New York and Los Angeles at a variety of boutique postproduction shops for the past 6 years. Jillian was awarded “Best Young Filmmaker 2015” from Los Angeles Center Studios and she continues to make films exploring hidden identities, with a particular focus on women’s stories.

 

DONATE TO THIS PROJECT:

Cinefemme's Federal Tax EIN Number is 52-237-4579.  Our address is 1014 Broadway #477 in Santa Monica, CA.  Donations to this project can be made via the donation button above, through a charitable fund, or by check.  Checks should be made out to Cinefemme and have "Second Assault" written in the memo section.  Checks must be mailed to:

Cinefemme

1014 Broadway #477

Santa Monica, CA  90401