What is the film about?

When Jake, a reclusive twenty-something, decides to go out with an old mate, he’s introduced to Karen, a vivacious young girl with whom he becomes infatuated.

After the two hit it off, Jake is looking to take things further but a series of sexual advances eventually leads to a sexual assault.

Based on true events, Karen gives a powerful account of sexual assault, told from the perpetrator’s point of view.

What influenced it?

Chris Shepherd, Ian Gouldstone, Joanna Quinn, Jonas Odell

A little background information...

The story for Karen was inspired by a series of posts on the popular online forum, Reddit, in which people were confessing to committing rape. I was shocked to see the amount of people who didn’t realise what they were doing was wrong or damage they were inflicting on the victim.

I made Karen because I wanted to defy the misconceptions within rape culture surrounding victim blaming. By focusing on Jake’s perspective, I wanted to draw attention to how his desensitized approach to sex affects his actions rather than focusing on how Karen behaves or dresses [something women are usually criticised for when it comes to sexual assault].

How was the film made?

I formed a script from the confessions posted on Reddit. I then started experimenting by animating and filming different sequences to portray a certain part of the story in a particular way.

The film combines traditional hand-drawn and collage techniques with digital software such as Adobe After Effects and Premiere.