Victim/Suspect

Nancy Schwartzman's 2023 documentary examines a repeating pattern in America. The journalist Rachel de Leon notices that some young women who report a sexual assault end up accused themselves at the close of the investigation: charged with making a false report, arrested and sometimes imprisoned. The film shows how those cases are constructed through interrogation footage, describing in detail the police method of taking a statement, the retraction documents signed under pressure and the speed at which files are closed. De Leon carries out a data project lasting years and gathers hundreds of cases across the country. The account proceeds through individual women's stories and none of the outcomes offers relief. Who it's for: viewers who like investigative documentary and studies of the legal system. Who it's not for: anyone who would rather not approach accounts of sexual assault and interrogation footage.