guardian 'we did not consent'

executive producer

From director Dorothy Allen-Pickard

We made this film with three women who have first-hand experience of Spy Cops infiltrating their lives. In order for them to remain anonymous, they wear masks throughout. We developed an intimate relationship with them over several years, at first collaborating on a theatre piece, then developing the idea for this film through conversations. Onscreen, we see the women dissect and redirect fictionalised scenes from their lives, here played by actors. The scenes reflect how their stories have been depicted in the media, with officers presented in a sympathetic light, as morally conflicted and truly in love, whereas the women are presented as naive, hopelessly romantic or worthy of being spied on.We Did Not Consent provides a space for them to discuss their experiences in a disarmingly frank and even humorous way, upturning all sense of them as the silent victims.