English
Host a screening of the new film AN ARMY OF WOMEN with your community.
AN ARMY OF WOMEN had its world premiere at SXSW in March 2024, and as of April 2025, it is available in select US and UK theaters to commemorate Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
A group of women in Austin, Texas, join forces to legally challenge the system that allowed their rapists to walk free. AN ARMY OF WOMEN is the landmark story of women fighting to hold law enforcement accountable, with resounding relevance worldwide.
About the Film
When Amy, Marina and Hanna’s rape cases are dismissed by the Austin police, all three women try to find a way to rebuild their lives. They join forces with twelve other women in a groundbreaking federal class-action lawsuit, the first to argue that sexual assault isn’t prosecuted because it’s a crime that predominantly affects women. The group is determined to hold police and prosecutors accountable for their inaction, but their resilience is tested as they face setbacks from the system they hope to change. Ultimately, "An Army of Women" offers a hopeful look into a movement that aims to change the future for women everywhere.
Director's Statement
I can't recall the specific moment when I grasped the reality that being a girl in this world meant exercising caution. Gradually, I found myself scrutinising my appearance, behaviour, conversations, and even my walk down the street. Though no one explicitly told me, I quickly sensed, from a young age, the need to be vigilant. While this attitude is intended for protection, it inadvertently embeds a dangerous idea in our collective subconscious: the belief that women bear the responsibility of avoiding danger, and if something happens to us, we are to blame.
This idea plays out in the lives of women, across the world, every day. It also plays out in the minds of detectives, prosecutors, and jurors. When I first learned about this class action lawsuit, I had lived in Austin for a year, and the city had always seemed like a safe place to live. But after reading about how law enforcement in Austin – and the US as a whole – handles sexual assault cases, my sense of safety was quickly shattered. I learned that one in five American women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime. I learned that 99 % of rapists walk free. And I learned that survivors are disbelieved and retraumatized by the system that’s supposed to protect them. Rape, a crime that predominantly affects women, is essentially legal in America.
Anger is what drove me to tell this story, but hope is what came to define it. The women’s project springs from a place of optimism: it might take years to achieve, but change is possible. They’re leading the way in beginning an open and honest dialogue about what a more just system can look like. My goal is that viewers will be left with the same level of optimism and fighting spirit that drives this group of women.
Julie Lunde Lillesæter