WATCH TRAILER

MY SEXTORTION DIARY

A film by Patricia Franquesa

Spain | 2024 | 64 minutes | Spanish | Catalan | English

Trapped in a digital blackmail labyrinth after her computer is stolen, director Pati Franquesa documents the real-time persecution to maintain bodily autonomy and survive.

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SYNOPSIS

After receiving a chilling threat from an anonymous hacker demanding $2,400 to stop the mass distribution of her intimate photos, Pati’s world crumbles and she turns to the authorities for help—only to find them powerless to act. As the hacker begins leaking her private images, Pati realizes she must take matters into her own hands. Through text messages, emails, and self-recorded videos, MY SEXTORTION DIARY reveals a gripping, first-hand account of online blackmail that has become disturbingly commonplace. Combining elements of thriller and mystery, Pati’s journey transcends helplessness as she fights back with honesty, humor, and resilience, crafting a powerful story of bodily autonomy, dignity, and the global fight against digital exploitation.

SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS

  • 2024 SXSW Film Festival
  • 2024 Hot Docs
  • 2024 IDFA (International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam)
  • 2024 Docs Barcelona
  • 2024 Seattle International Film Festival
  • 2024 Sheffield Doc Fest
  • 2024 Festival dei Popoli
  • 2024 Cinema Jove
  • 2024 Galway Film Festival
  • 2024 European Union Asia Documentary Festival
  • 2024 FIWOM Seoul
  • 2024 UnderHill International Film Festival
  • 2024 Folkestone Documentary Festival
  • 2024 FIDBA International Documentary Film Festival
  • 2024 Dokumentale Film Festival
  • 2024 Guelph Film Festival
  • 2024 West Lake International Documentary Film Festival
  • 2024 Dharamsala International Film Festival
  • 2024 Memorimage
  • 2024 VERZIÓ International Human Rights Film Festival
  • 2024 Watch Docs
  • 2025 Luxembourg City Film Festival
  • 2025 FIPADOC
  • 2025 Ambulante
  • 2025 One World International Human Rights Film Festival

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Patricia Franquesa

Holding a bachelor’s degree in Audiovisual Communication from Ramón Llull University and a master’s degree in Creative Documentary from Pompeu Fabra University, Patricia Franquesa launched her career in Tel Aviv. There, she collaborated with Heymann Brothers Films and Hilla Medalia, contributing to projects like CENSORED VOICES (2015, Sundance) and THE OSLO DIARIES (2019, HBO) alongside Daniel Sivan & Mor Loushy. After sharpening her skills, Patricia returned to her native Barcelona to co-found Gadea Films. Under this banner, she produced LA MAMI (2019, IDFA Feature Length Competition), a documentary by Laura Herrero Garvín in coproduction with Mexico. Patricia made her directorial debut with OH DEAR SARA (2021), a documentary that profiles Sara Bahai, Afghanistan’s pioneering female taxi driver. This project, a co-production between Spain, Norway, and Serbia, premiered at festivals like DocLisboa, Beldocs, and Docs Barcelona. It garnered awards at the Iran International Film Festival and the Evolution Mallorca Film Fest, enjoying commercial distribution across over 60 Spanish cinemas. (1/2025)

Credits:


Director: Patricia Franquesa 

  

Producers: Patricia Franquesa, Mireia Graell 

  

Written by: Patricia Franquesa 

  

Produced by: Gadea Films, Ringo Media & 3Cat 

  

Editor: Patricia Franquesa 

  

Supervising Editor: Ana Žugić 

  

Post-Production Coordinator: Gemma Cabello 

  

Art Direction: Lali Delgado 

  

Music: Laura Casaponsa 

  

Sound Design: Laia Casanovas 

  

Animation: Mordisco Studio 


Press:


"A valuable education on the risks we run with our increasingly digital lives through an engaging and unique editing format." Emily Duff, Now Then, A Magazine for Sheffield "A powerful and provocative real-life story, prescient in reflecting the unhappy reality facing those people who are forced to deal with the awful behaviour of unscrupulous hackers." Mark Adams, Business Doc Europe "In a subversive spin on the contemporary obsession with true crime media and documentaries on the dark side of human nature, the Spanish filmmaker retakes control of her own story as a victim of sexual blackmail." Olivia Popp, Cineuropa "My Sextortion Diary, the hour-long documentary that arose from Franquesa‘s harrowing experience with digital blackmail, is a queasily absorbing look at the uncanny and mundane ways technology shapes our daily lives." - Payton McCarty-Simas, Film Inquiry "A personal story about how [filmmaker Pati Franquesa] takes justice into her own hands after being threatened by a hacker with access to her personal photos." Isabella Soares, She Does the City

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