Molly Vs the Machines

Molly Vs the Machines unveils the tragic story behind a teenager driven to take her life by machines that were built to control people for profit.

Year: 2026

Director: Marc Silver 

Producers: Natalie Humphreys, Kat Mansoor and Marc Silver 

Co-Producer: Charlie Falconer 

Executive Producers: Minette Nelson, Mark Thomas, Shoshana Zuboff, Jess Search, Sacha Mirzoeff, Alaphia Zoyab, Elise Tillet, Sandra Whipham, Joseph Schull, Harriet Gugenheim, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus and Ángel Maldonado 

Production Companies: Doc Society, Snowstorm Productions, Storyboard Studios 

Distributor: Cosmic Cat 

Screen Scotland support: The film accessed £300,000 through Screen Scotland’s Film Development and Production Fund 


Synopsis

Molly Vs the Machines is the personal story of Ian Russell and his unrelenting battle for safer online environments and accountability from the tech giants that dominate – and too often endanger – our daily lives.

Ian lost his 14 year-old daughter Molly Russell after she was exposed to extensive self-harm content on social media, something the Coroner found had contributed to her death, having been drawn into a world of dangerous online content.

From a teenager’s suburban bedroom to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, Molly Vs the Machines is the story of a heartbroken father’s quest to uncover the truth behind his daughter's death and his fightback against how the most powerful corporations of the modern age operate.


More information

Image credits: Still courtesy of Storyboard Studios