Channel 4 has dropped the trailer for upcoming doc Molly vs The MACHINES, which will launch as part of the Glasgow Film Festival’s premiere slate on Sunday 1st March, releasing simultaneously in 30+ cinemas across the country, ahead of its TV debut at 9PM on Thursday 5th March on Channel 4.
The film tells the story of Ian Russell and his fight for online safety, through twin narratives – the story of what happened to Molly, a 14-year-old schoolgirl who died from “an act of self harm suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content,” in the lead-up to her tragic death, and the broader economic logic behind AI and Big Tech as it continues to shape, influence and infiltrate our lives.
Molly vs The MACHINES, is produced by Marc Silver together with Kat Mansoor for Snowstorm Productions and Natalie Humphreys for Storyboard Studios.
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Co-written by Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff (author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power) and directed by Emmy-nominated Marc Silver (Who is Dayani Cristal?, 3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets), the documentary examines how Molly’s life and death were intertwined with algorithms born and generated in the depths of Silicon Valley. It interrogates one of the defining issues of our time: how digital systems designed for profit have come to shape emotional life and behaviour.
Made in close collaboration with Molly’s family and friends, the film situates Molly’s story within the wider context of technological and algorithmic overreach.
The one-off Channel 4 documentary launches at a moment of heightened public and political attention to online safety and AI governance, with the UK Government announcing an urgent national conversation on the impact of technology on children’s wellbeing, Elon Musk’s Grok undergoing a formal Ofcom investigation, and a major lawsuit alleging companies knowingly ignored risks to young users set to begin in California.
The documentary serves as a unique and timely insight into the fight being undertaken by The Russell family and many others like them – and if they can ever hope to win.
Molly vs The MACHINES was commissioned for Channel 4 by Sacha Mirzoeff, senior commissioning editor for factual entertainment & documentaries. It was funded with support from Channel 4, Luminate, Screen Scotland, Empathy AI, Placeholder Films, The Filmmaker Fund, Doc Society and Ford Foundation JustFilms.
