The future of deepfakes isn’t memes – it’s nonconsensual porn: A review of Another Body

Filmmakers Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn want to reclaim the online space for women in their new documentary on the misuse of deepfake technology.

By Sarah Grishpul

Imagine you received a message from a friend one day with a link to a porn site to which you discover that there are a bunch of pornographic videos with your face on them.

That is how directors Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn’s documentary, Another Body, starts. In the film, we follow Taylor, a young college student whose life turns upside down after discovering someone has posted deepfake pornography, using her face, online.

Deepfakes are artificially generated footage created by running a large collection of images through AI software. 

While many people may have encountered deepfakes through memes or silly videos of Nicolas Cage on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s body, at least 96 per cent of this technology has been utilized for pornographic content. The majority of these victims are nonconsenting women.

The documentary is a slow-burn thriller that guides the viewer through a situation every modern young woman fears. There is a constant sense of unease and dread as we see Taylor close off from the world while more deepfake videos of her are posted. It’s heartbreaking to witness this youthful, carefree girl slowly become undone by such an act of hate.

Throughout this documentary, we follow Taylor’s journey as she works relentlessly to seek justice for this egregious invasion of privacy. However, as the film hammers home, most countries don’t have proper online harassment laws surrounding this new technology.

Even in Canada, there are no criminal deepfake laws in place. It is also difficult to punish the creators of pornographic deepfakes as the perpetrator is often hiding behind an anonymous online identity.

The documentary is shot similarly to most found-footage films (picture Aneesh Chaganty’s 2018 film Searching), with many scenes shot from Taylor’s phone or laptop while capturing her reactions in vlogs, Zoom meetings or through social media sites and forums. 

When initially developing the idea for this documentary, Compton and Hamlyn wanted to bring awareness to this growing issue that not many are aware of. In an interview with CanCulture, the pair discussed the ethics behind approaching Taylor and sharing her story without invading her space.

“By allowing her to self-record her story, she's the one who decides when the camera turns on and when the camera turns off, she decides when she wants to speak and when she doesn't and by sort of doing that, we provide her with control over how her story is told,” said Hamlyn. “It kind of makes her collaborator in the process more so than the junior typical documentary subject.”

Aside from giving Taylor control over her narrative, Hamlyn also mentioned that they wanted to reclaim the online platforms that had stripped so many women of their agency.

“We want to celebrate these online forms of communication and documentation, and so by recreating that in the style of the film, we're trying to put forward quite how powerful that can be as a mechanism of using your voice,” said Hamlyn.

The pair also utilized this AI tool to demonstrate how powerful this technology can be while also protecting Taylor’s identity, as it is revealed in the film that the face we’ve been staring at isn’t her actual face — but rather, a deepfake of another actress (Ava Breuer).

According to the filmmakers, deepfake technology isn’t inherently problematic. However, it becomes an issue when not used responsibly.

“They don't understand that this technology, when used to recreate a realistic-looking video, can be pretty much seamless,” said Compton. “And so by being able to use the technology in the film not just to protect our subjects, we also really can persuade the audience and clarify how terrifying the technology can be when misused.”

Compton and Hamlyn hope that this documentary will help bring awareness to this ongoing issue while destigmatizing the illusion of these online predators and addressing this kind of abuse and misogyny in our communities.

“The Internet is the most important public forum in human history, in my opinion, and the right answer is not to withdraw from it just to protect yourself from this,” said Hamlyn. “We need to find a way of making it safe for women to freely participate in online spaces.”

The documentary is part of their campaign #MyImageMyChoice meant to amplify the stories of survivors and advocate for stronger laws surrounding deepfake abuse. Compton says they started a petition to block these sites from promoting image abuse and email templates that people can send to political representatives.

“What we've really witnessed in Taylor's story is that if you persevere and keep investigating and reach out to people and find community, things can really shift,” said Compton.

“So, I hope that people sense the glimmer of opportunity and hope in that.”

Another Body will be playing at the Ted Rogers Hot Docs Cinema before streaming on CBC Gem on November 22nd.

Tofu Prep, Sourdough Discard and Where to Stand When You’re Hosting a Dinner Party #HotDocs

Chris Morocco hosts a live recording of Bon Appetit’s Dinner SOS to solve Toronto’s most pressing kitchen dilemmas.

By: Mariana Schuetze and Mia Johnson 

Bon Appetit food director and host of Dinner SOS Chris Morocco discussed grated tofu and knife skills at the Hot Docs Podcast Festival on Oct. 21, 2023. (Courtesy of Hot Docs/Gabriel Li)

It’s a Monday night and you’ve already got the garlic and shallots diced up for the rose sauce. The rigatoni is on the stove; it’s already boiling. But there’s no tomato paste in the pantry. What a fucking disaster. You're considering biking down to the grocery store to pick something up, but the desire has completely escaped you. You have lost all energy to deal with the fluorescent lights and overstimulating produce section at Loblaws. Dinner SOS may very well be your only solution. 

Hot Docs Podcast festival curator Wilson Obiang deems Dinner SOS an “essential public service,” uniting all foodies. A podcast that works in tandem with home cooks and professional chefs alike, acting as a safety net in the midst of chaos. 

Bon Appetit and Epicurious food director Chris Morocco brought a delicious conversation to the Hot Docs stage on Oct. 21. Morocco was joined by Bon Appetit food editor Shilpa Uskokovic to co-host a live edition of their cooking-helpline podcast, Dinner SOS. The pair teamed up with Toronto's very own foodie Suresh Doss and cookbook author Eden Grinshpan, host of Top Chef Canada, to solve the kitchen crises on Toronto’s mind. 

This topical crew dive into the best place to stand when hosting a dinner party and how to get your guests to leave you alone when you’re still busy basting the chicken. Uskokovic suggests a collaborative idea like tacos while Morocco doesn’t trust anybody shucking his oysters.

Dinner SOS is Bon Appetit's most recent podcast venture. It premiered in November 2022 and has Morocco as the main host, who offers some well-needed cooking advice. In a usual episode of Dinner SOS, Morocco will treat each call like a therapy session for food, bringing in reinforcements from the Bon Appetit team. The recipes are then introduced and the caller will choose one or two recipes and cook them. The unique thing about this podcast is that it doesn't only offer a call-in service, the podcast hosts will follow their guests over the course of a couple of weeks to ensure their advice holds true. 

This conversation-style podcast breaks down common kitchen emergencies. They discuss cooking for picky eaters, how to incorporate more fish into their diets and treating vegetables as meat. Morocco provides not only the caller but the listeners, with simple tips from specialists that eases the daily stress of food preparation, encouraging healthy and satisfying food habits. It’s thorough and an absolute delight. 

At the Hot Docs Podcast Festival, Morocco switched things up. The two Bon Appetit hosts were joined by Toronto food specialists to have a casual conversation about food, Toronto and everything in-between. The audience had the opportunity to email questions to the panel before the event and they spent about one hour answering the questions and chatting. 

Toronto-based food writer Suresh Doss spoke on how the Toronto food scene is changing with Facebook marketplace family-run pop-ups and the dying art of traditional food media. (Courtesy of Hot Docs/Gabriel Li)

Morocco and Uskokovic interviewed Doss, a Toronto foodie, to discuss the city's bustling food scene. He brought a refreshing perspective to the conversation with the two North American food editors. Doss charmed them on one of his famous food tours, "breaking their stomachs," and wasted no time moving from one place to another – Uskokovic dubs Doss an “excellent wrangler.” 

He shows the audience that smaller communities in the GTA, like Scarborough, are instrumental to Toronto food’s community, although often overlooked. With places like New Kalyani on Kennedy Road that serve up Sri Lankan dishes like kothu, roti and egg partha; he highlights some spots closest to his heart. “This is where my mom goes when she doesn’t want to cook,” said Doss. 

The food media scene has changed drastically in the last few years. Doss, who has over 15 years of experience as a food and drink writer, commented on how rare his job is nowadays. 

"Because nobody can really afford to do what I'm doing if they don't have the car, right? I'm getting food, at this point, about 18 times a week. And who can afford to do that? And who will pay you [to do it]."

TikToks and Instagram reels are a big part of food media today, said Doss. The short 60-second videos are usually quick lists of the best places to go and Doss said he misses the human side of it – and a bit more context. "There's no story behind the owner, the story of like, why this place exists in this part of the city?"

With this in mind, he dives into the versatility and character that is missing from videos like this. Facebook Marketplace may be the best way to get a unique experience. Facebook pop-ups see new cuisines depending on the suburb. In places like Parkale where the food scene is rich in Indian cuisine or in Mississauga where we see an upsurge of Palestinian food. 

“You get this really interesting, unfiltered, adulterated regional cuisine that you will never see in a restaurant,” Doss said. "I travel quite a bit and I'm convinced that we have the most insane, dense marketplace for home-cooked meals.” 

Halfway through the event, the trio was joined by Grinshpan, who swiftly matched the group's charismatic and witty dynamic. 

Grinshpan, a mom of two young kids, said the best way to have kids engaged is to have them become part of the process. She frequently sends her three-year-old out to the herb garden to collect basil or dill or thyme to get her more involved, contributing in these small ways.

Taking pride in the food we prepare and having the opportunity to share that with others can get kids excited about experimenting with new flavours. There’s originality and care put into the food we create. 

Doss added that exposure is key. “It helps [his kid to] sort of build a relationship with what he’s eating.” 

At the end of the night, we left with a mind full of ideas and a salivating mouth hungry for more of that conversation; and a fresh oyster; or a sourdough waffle. 

Turmoil, Chaos, and The Return of the Past: Margaret Atwood on Mavis Gallant’s Varieties of Exile #HotDocs

Margaret Atwood sat down with Deborah Treisman for a short story reading in the first ever live edition of the New Yorker podcast. 

By Grace Henkel

Deborah Treisman and Margaret Atwood sit at table on the Hot Docs Cinema stage

The New Yorker’s Deborah Treisman, left, and Margaret Atwood read and discuss the short story “Varieties of Exile” (Courtesy of Gabriel Li/Hot Docs)

“I don’t welcome the return of this kind of uproar and chaos, but it looks like we’re there again.”

Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood spoke powerfully as she sat down to record the New Yorker’s first-ever live podcast from the Hot Docs Cinema. The renowned author joined host Deborah Treisman to read and discuss Mavis Gallant’s short story Varieties of Exile, first published in 1976.

Atwood said the story “felt very timely,” a sentiment likely shared by readers and witnesses to current international crises.

“Every time a dominant power loses its grip, there seems to be turmoil and chaos,” said Atwood as she introduced the story. Though she specified no particular conflict, it is undeniable that humanitarian consequences introduced by the actions of “dominant powers” have been far-reaching and deeply felt across the world in the last years and recent weeks.

Atwood also noted that such stories and experiences from the past, whether memories or renderings in literature, become magnified in their significance as time progresses.

“At first, they seem to be very far away when you first live through them,” she said. However, she acknowledged, such events often return with profound relevance in future contexts.

Varieties of Exile is set during the second World War, told from the perspective of Linnet Muir, a nineteen-year-old Canadian woman. While being closely drawn to the refugees pouring into Montreal, she becomes disillusioned to the brutal cross-continental conflict, the divisive patterns of European-Canadian family units, and her own isolation.

As Muir develops a deep and idealistic fascination for the refugees with whom she feels “entirely at home,” she also observes the pattern of “remittance men.” They are the sons of English families, sent abroad in the wake of scandal.

Muir recalls how her childhood world and its truths were shaped significantly by narratives in literature. As Atwood reads, these narratives are stripped back to uncover stark realities. The refugees become “boring” to Muir the moment she witnesses one of them eating cornflakes, no longer a novelty–and the remittance men, as ties to their former identity weaken, are confronted with the reality of their very permanent exile.

Despite the heavy subject matter, Atwood’s sharp wit and quick humor cut through to the audience. During their discussion, as Treisman asked for Atwood’s insights on a particular moment in the story, the literary legend simply replied that she didn’t know, she didn’t write it.

You can read Varieties of Exile here.