Molly vs. the Machines

Marc Silver – United Kingdom, 2026 – 83 minutes – spoken language: English, with Dutch subtitles

‘To her parents, she was a child’, says the AI generated voice-over which narrates Molly vs The Machines. ‘But to me, she was a user.’ At just 14 years old, Molly Russell returned home from drama class, finished her homework, watched television with her family and said goodnight. A few hours later, she took her own life. After her death, her parents found out Molly was bombarded with content about suicide and self-harm on Instagram. Alone in her room with her smartphone, Molly was losing herself in the idea that she was worthless, that it would be better if she was dead – echoing the content she was watching. As her father Ian Russell says: ‘I have no doubt that Instagram helped to kill my daughter.’

Molly vs The Machines follows the trail of two narratives exposing what happened to Molly. One is the story of the evidence presented in a Coroner’s court which illuminates the last months and moments of her life. The other reveals the growth of the social media giants and their surveillance based business model, driven by a desire for unrestrained profit and power. In the words of Ian Russell: ‘Decisions about what is suitable for a 14-year-old to see are being made in Silicon Valley, almost experimentally.’

This feature film in the Movies that Matter on Tour series will be introduced and followed by a discussion. Subtitles and discussion in English.
With the On Tour program, Movies that Matter organizes screenings with in-depth programmes in The Netherlands and online. They do this in collaboration with a diverse array of organizations and companies. Among other things, they also organise the annual Movies that Matter festival in The Hague.