Another Body
{{Short description|2023 documentary film}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Another Body
| image = Another Body poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = {{Plainlist|
- Sophie Compton
- Reuben Hamlyn
}}
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Elizabeth Woodward
- Sophie Compton
- Reuben Hamlyn
}}
| writer = {{Plainlist|
- Sophie Compton
- Reuben Hamlyn
- Isabel Freeman
}}
| starring =
| music = Holland Andrews
| cinematography = Nausheen Dadabhoy
| editing = {{Plainlist|
- Isabel Freeman
- Rabab Haj Yahya
}}
| production_companies = {{Plainlist|
- Willa
- Impact Partners
- Murmation Productions
- Remarkably Calm Productions
}}
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
- Utopia
- Willa
- Modern Films
}}
| released = {{Film date|2023|3|11|SXSW|2023|10|20|United States|2023|11|24|United Kingdom}}
| runtime = 80 minutes{{cite web|url=https://schedule.sxsw.com/2023/films/2079685|title=Another Body|website=South by Southwest|access-date=May 11, 2023|archive-date=May 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524202058/https://schedule.sxsw.com/2023/films/2079685|url-status=live}}
| country = {{Plainlist|
- United States
- United Kingdom
}}
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $24,384{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Another-Body-(2023)#tab=box-office|title=Another Body (2023)|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=December 15, 2023|archive-date=November 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128011743/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Another-Body-(2023)#tab=box-office|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl833913601/weekend/|title=Another Body (2023)|website=The Numbers|access-date=December 15, 2023|archive-date=December 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216053701/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl833913601/weekend/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2023/10/indie-box-office-leo-bloody-sweet-anatomy-of-a-fall-dicks-musical-persian-version-1235580232/|title=Fans Fall For 'Leo: Bloody Sweet' As Indian Thriller Hits No. 8 – Specialty Box Office|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Jill|last=Goldsmith|date=October 22, 2023|access-date=October 22, 2023|archive-date=October 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022204328/https://deadline.com/2023/10/indie-box-office-leo-bloody-sweet-anatomy-of-a-fall-dicks-musical-persian-version-1235580232/|url-status=live}}
}}
Another Body is a 2023 documentary film, directed, written, and produced by Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn. It follows a college student who seeks justice after finding deepfake pornography of herself online.
It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2023, where it won the Special Jury Award for Innovation in Storytelling. It was released in the United States on October 20, 2023, by Utopia and Willa, and is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2023, by Modern Films.
Plot
A college student seeks justice after finding deepfake pornography of herself online.
Production
As opposed to traditional documentaries where actors are used to recreate scenes, Another Body deepfaked the subjects in order to protect their identities, while preserving their emotions.{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Rebecca |date=March 24, 2023 |title=SXSW 2023: Putting a lens on digital image-based sexual abuse in directors Sophie Compton & Reuben Hamlyn and producer Elizabeth Woodward's "Another Body" |url=https://cinemafemme.com/2023/03/24/sxsw-2023-putting-a-lens-on-digital-image-based-sexual-abuse-in-directors-sophie-compton-reuben-hamlyn-and-producer-elizabeth-woodwardsanother-body/ |access-date=May 24, 2023 |website=CinemaFemme}}{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Will |date=2024-02-28 |title='I think you need to see this': Celebrities are not the only victims of deepfake porn |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/i-think-you-need-to-see-this-celebrities-are-not-the-only-victims-of-deepfake-porn-20240228-p5f8ee.html |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=2024-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240623235839/https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/i-think-you-need-to-see-this-celebrities-are-not-the-only-victims-of-deepfake-porn-20240228-p5f8ee.html |url-status=live }} Compton said, "It was really important to us that everything we anonymized was just like it happened and we only changed the details that were identifying. We wanted to reflect the exact truth and the spirit of the story."
Release
The film had its world premiere at 2023 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival on March 11, 2023, where it won the Special Jury Award for Innovation in Storytelling.{{cite web|url=https://www.sxsw.com/film/2023/sxsw-film-tv-festival-announces-2023-jury-and-special-awards/|title=SXSW Film & TV Festival Announces 2023 Jury and Special Awards|website=SXSW Festival|date=14 March 2023|access-date=June 3, 2023|archive-date=16 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616205910/https://www.sxsw.com/film/2023/sxsw-film-tv-festival-announces-2023-jury-and-special-awards/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2023/01/2023-sxsw-film-lineup-dungeons-and-dragons-opening-movie-1235218171/|title=SXSW Lineup Includes 'Dungeons & Dragons' On Opening Night, 'Evil Dead Rise', Eva Longoria's 'Flamin' Hot', A24's 'Problemista' & More|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|date=January 11, 2023|access-date=May 24, 2023|archive-date=January 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115061552/https://deadline.com/2023/01/2023-sxsw-film-lineup-dungeons-and-dragons-opening-movie-1235218171/|url-status=live}} It also screened at Hot Docs International Film Festival on April 28, 2023.{{cite web|url=https://hotdocs.ca/whats-on/hot-docs-festival/films/2023/another-body|title=Another Body|website=Hot Docs International Film Festival|access-date=May 24, 2023|archive-date=May 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524202055/https://hotdocs.ca/whats-on/hot-docs-festival/films/2023/another-body|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/2023-hot-docs-festival-joan-baez-ruth-reichl-indigo-girls-films-1235361451/|title=Joan Baez, Ruth Reichl and Indigo Girls Films Set for 2023 Hot Docs Festival|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Etan|last=Vlessing|date=March 28, 2023|access-date=May 24, 2023|archive-date=June 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603014731/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/2023-hot-docs-festival-joan-baez-ruth-reichl-indigo-girls-films-1235361451/|url-status=live}} In August 2023, Utopia acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, to co-distribute the film with Willa.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/global/another-body-utopia-sxsw-deepfake-pornography-documentary-1235699707/|title=Utopia Buys U.S. Rights to 'Another Body,' SXSW Prizewinning Documentary About Threat of Deepfake Pornography (EXCLUSIVE)|website=Variety|first=Elsa|last=Keslassy|date=August 18, 2023|access-date=August 18, 2023|archive-date=August 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818161057/https://variety.com/2023/film/global/another-body-utopia-sxsw-deepfake-pornography-documentary-1235699707/|url-status=live}} In September 2023, Modern Films acquired U.K. distribution rights to the film.{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/deepfake-documentary-another-body-secures-uk-ireland-canada-theatrical-deals-exclusive/5186131.article|title=Deepfake documentary 'Another Body' secures UK-Ireland, Canada theatrical deals (exclusive)|website=Screen International|first=Ben|last=Dalton|date=September 21, 2023|access-date=October 19, 2023|archive-date=May 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524225521/https://www.screendaily.com/news/deepfake-documentary-another-body-secures-uk-ireland-canada-theatrical-deals-exclusive/5186131.article|url-status=live}}
It was released in the United States on October 20, 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/movies/new-movies-fall.html|title=Here Are the Most Anticipated Movies of Fall 2023|website=The New York Times|first=Ben|last=Kenigsberg|date=September 8, 2023|access-date=September 10, 2023|archive-date=September 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909185534/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/movies/new-movies-fall.html|url-status=live}} It was released in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/61256/1/another-body-how-deepfake-porn-is-destroying-lives-sophie-compton-reuben-hamlyn|title=Another Body: how deepfake porn is destroying young women's lives|website=Dazed|first=Serena|last=Smith|date=November 2, 2023|access-date=November 2, 2023|archive-date=November 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102201039/https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/61256/1/another-body-how-deepfake-porn-is-destroying-lives-sophie-compton-reuben-hamlyn|url-status=live}}
Reception
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|91|7.7|33|Eye-opening and infuriating in equal measure, Another Body is a timely documentary that delves into a disturbing issue of growing concern.|ref=yes|access-date=February 11, 2025}} {{Metacritic film prose|67|5|ref=yes|access-date=11 February 2025}}
The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave the film 4/5 stars, writing, "Germaine Greer famously said that women have no idea how much men hate them. Her maxim has a new relevance in the light of this terrifying (and enraging) documentary about the explosion of deepfake porn targeting women".{{Cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |date=2023-11-22 |title=Another Body review – terrifying dive into the world of deepfake porn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/22/another-body-review-terrifying-dive-into-the-world-of-deepfake-porn |access-date=2025-02-11 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Benji Wilson of The Daily Telegraph also gave it 4/5 stars, calling its use of deepfake technology to conceal its subject's identity "a neat piece of table-turning that highlighted how willingly we can be duped by video footage, as well as the dangers of putting faces to names in public. Sensibly, however, the film didn't lay it on too thick: that would have been an unnecessary gimmick, a distraction from what was already a shocking tale."{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Benji |date=2024-02-06 |title=Another Body: My AI Porn Nightmare, review: the horrors of deepfakes are here to stay |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2024/02/06/storyville-another-body-my-ai-porn-nightmare-review-bbc/ |access-date=2025-02-11 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=2024-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240903192158/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2024/02/06/storyville-another-body-my-ai-porn-nightmare-review-bbc/ |url-status=live }} Owen Gleiberman of Variety called it "a groundbreaking, creepy, fascinating, and important documentary about a phenomenon that's only going to grow in significance: the deepfaking of pornography."{{Cite web |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |date=2023-10-25 |title='Another Body' Review: A Look at the Brave New World — and the Victims — of Deepfake Porn |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/another-body-review-a-look-at-the-brave-new-world-and-victims-of-deepfake-porn-1235766119/ |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=2025-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250108180316/https://variety.com/2023/film/news/another-body-review-a-look-at-the-brave-new-world-and-victims-of-deepfake-porn-1235766119/ |url-status=live }}
Lisa Kennedy of The New York Times was more critical, writing, "Another Body is most persuasive when experts weigh in on the reality-upending aspects of deepfake technology and image-based sex abuse. That the documentary does this by utilizing some of that technology to protect Taylor and Julia's identities raises its own ethical questions — ones that, even with the filmmakers' compassion and transparency, Another Body doesn't quite resolve."{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Lisa |date=2023-10-19 |title='Another Body' Review: A Cowardly New World |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/movies/another-body-review.html |access-date=2025-02-11 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2023-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128043013/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/movies/another-body-review.html |url-status=live }}
Accolades
References
{{Reflist}}