ABOUT THE FILM
After #MeToo broke the cultural silence on gendered violence, survivors swiftly found themselves facing a new kind of silencing and fear as defamation laws became weaponised by alleged perpetrators against women for speaking out. International human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson takes audiences inside the courtroom and behind the headlines to reveal how the legal system is being used to victimise, discredit and financially ruin survivors, and journalists reporting on their stories.
Robinson brings unrivalled access to the women and journalists at the centre of high-profile legal battles across the globe, including Brittany Higgins, Australian former political staff er, survivor and advocate against gendered violence; Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, Latin American journalist and co-founder of the feminist magazine Volcánicas and Amber Heard, Hollywood actor and advocate who found herself at the centre of one of the most high-profile defamation battles in recent history.
From International Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Selina Miles and Blayke Hoffman, SILENCED is a powerful, emotional and urgent documentary that challenges the devastating flaws maintaining the status quo within the justice system.
PARTICIPANTS
JENNIFER ROBINSON
Jennifer Robinson is one of the world’s most respected human rights lawyers and advocates. A barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, she has acted in key human rights and media freedom cases in domestic and international courts.
BRITTANY HIGGINS
Brittany Higgins is an Australian advocate against gendered violence and workplace harassment. After speaking publicly about her sexual assault in Parliament House, she helped expose widespread cultural and structural failures, prompting multiple national reviews and driving major reforms.
AMBER HEARD
Amber Heard is an actor, advocate and was at the centre of one of the most high profile defamation battles in the post-MeToo era. Heard was also a Human Rights Champion for the United Nations Human Rights Office.
CATALINA RUIZ-NAVARRO
Catalina Ruiz-Navarro is a Colombian feminist and journalist based in Mexico City. She is the founder and director of the feminist journalism magazine Volcánicas (volcanicas.com), and creator and director of the feminist training workshop Creadoras Camp (creadorascamp.org).
SIBONGILE NDASHE
Sibongile Ndashe is the Executive Director and founder of the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA). Ndashe began her career at the Legal Resources Centre and clerked for Justices at the South African Constitutional Court.
ANA BEJARANO RICUARTE
Ana Bejarano Ricaurte is a Colombian human rights lawyer and co-director of El Veinte. She focuses on the eradication of judicial harassment and sexual violence and promotes pro bono work to secure access to justice for journalism.
ALEXI MOSTROUS
Alexi Mostrous is Head of Investigations at The Observer and creator of the podcast “Who Trolled Amber”. Mostrous worked at The Times and the Guardian for 13 years including Head of Investigations before joining Tortoise Media as a partner.
"An essential, galvanising watch."
Nikki Baughn, SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
FILM TEAM
SELINA
MILES
Writer/Director
Selina Miles
Selina Miles is an Australian director. Selina's debut feature film, Martha: A Picture Story received critical acclaim, winning numerous awards. Selina's second feature documentary, Harley & Katya won an International Emmy Award and was released globally on Netflix. Selina's work includes award-winning music videos for artists like Barkaa, The Hilltop Hoods and UK pop star Anne Marie. Her dedication to social justice saw her volunteer in Uganda in 2023, documenting the work of the nonprofit organization Operation International. The resulting short film, Saving Face, premiered at Sydney's Flickerfest.
BLAYKE
HOFFMAN
Producer
Blayke Hoffman
Blayke Hoffman is an Emmy Award-winning producer. Her 2026 feature documentary Silenced directed by Selina Miles, had its world premiere in competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival where it received widespread critical acclaim. Blayke's 2025 feature documentary Deeper directed by Jennifer Peedom, had its world premiere at SXSW Austin, was released theatrically by Madman and acquired by Netflix. In 2022, Blayke co-wrote and produced the feature documentary Harley & Katya, which won an International Emmy Award and achieved top 10 film rankings on its Netflix global release.
JENNIFER
PEEDOM
Executive Producer
Jennifer Peedom
An award-winning writer, director and producer whose credits include Sherpa, Solo, Mountain, River and Deeper. Jennifer's films have played at A-list international festivals including SXSW, Telluride, Toronto and IDFA, garnered multiple awards and a BAFTA nomination. As an executive producer, Jennifer has mentored teams to achieve ambitious projects including festival breakout Martha: A Picture Story, Emmy award winning Harley & Katya and the Netflix Original One Four: Against All Odds. Jennifer is currently in post-production on Tenzing, a biopic about the famed Everest mountaineer Tenzing Norgay starring Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe and Genden Phuntsok for Apple+.
SARAH
NOONAN
Executive Producer
Sarah Noonan
Sarah Noonan joined Stranger Than Fiction as general manager and producer in 2021 to support the company in a time of accelerated growth. Sarah was an executive producer on Hearts And Bones (2019), which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, Beyond The Known World (2017) and Warm Blood (2021). With Stranger Than Fiction she has produced Onefour: Against All Odds for Netflix, The Way We Wore series and Anatomy Of A String Quartet. At STF, Sarah is an executive producer on feature documentary Deeper (SXSW 2025, SFF 2025) and documentary series Australia: An Unofficial History (2025).
JO-ANNE
MCGOWAN
Executive Producer
Jo-Anne McGowan
Jo-Anne McGowan is an Emmy Award winning producer with over 25 years' experience in documentaries and co-founder of Stranger Than Fiction. In 2017, Jo-anne co-produced the feature documentary Mountain – a collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, which had a sell-out live performance tour nationally and is one of the highest grossing Australian documentaries of all time. Jo-anne's award winning slate of films include River (Telluride 2022), David Stratton’s Stories Of Australian Cinema (Cannes Classics, 2017), and Harley & Katya, which won an International Emmy Award in 2023.
MALINDA
WINK
Executive Producer
Malinda Wink
Malinda Wink is the executive director of Minderoo Pictures. Established in 2021, Minderoo Pictures invests in scripted and documentary projects. Projects in the portfolio include Ocean With David Attenborough, The Cranes Call, Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story, Lilith Fair, Shiver, Prima Facie, and Silenced. Malinda was executive producer of several of Australia's most high-profile social impact documentaries of recent times including 2040, The Final Quarter about champion AFL player, Adam Goodes and Big Deal: Is Our Democracy For Sale?, and is a highly regarded leader within the global screen industry and not-for-profit sector.
SHAUN
RICHARDS
Executive Producer
Shaun Richards
Shaun Richards is the General Manager of Soundfirm, one of Australia's leading film and television post-production companies. With over two decades in the screen industry, he combines strategic insight with hands-on operational leadership and a deep respect for creativity. He has worked on acclaimed projects including The Power Of The Dog, The Royal Hotel, and The Dark Emu Story. As an executive producer he fosters strong partnerships, mentors talent and aligns creative ambition with technical and commercial excellence.