Molly vs the Machines

Molly vs the Machines is a new documentary exploring the life and death of Molly Russell, the British teenager who took her own life after encountering harmful content on social media. Loosely based on Shoshana Zuboff’s book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, the film situates Molly’s death within the confluence of the ever-encroaching algorithm and the broader economic logic of Silicon Valley.

Working closely with other stakeholders including the Molly Rose Foundation and Channel 4, Borkowski worked on a campaign that sought to highlight both the film’s messages and its spokespeople. Given the highly sensitive nature of the subject matter, and swirling debates in the wider public sphere about the role of social media in the lives of children and young people, making sure that the film’s coverage was pitched appropriately necessitated a close working relationship across all parties – including not just Molly’s family, but also the film’s distributor and producing partners.

Launching the campaign with a Sunday Times exclusive for the trailer, Borkowski lined up a selection of high-profile interviews, including Channel 4 News, The Observer and BBC Breakfast, bringing in voices from across different aspects of the film’s production, from co-writer Shoshana Zuboff and director Marc Silver to Molly’s friends Charlotte and Sophie.

Emphasising the ‘as live’ nature of the film’s premiere, with a nationwide Q&A broadcast into cinemas following at the premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival, Borkowski leveraged the ongoing discourse around the film’s themes into more than 900 pieces of coverage, including a five-star review in The Times and a four-star review in the Guardian.

In concert with Channel 4, Borkowski also ensured that each piece included mention of the film’s eventual television broadcast.