The film, directed by rising star Emma Branderhorst, pivots on a 'sliding doors' moment when a young man decides whether or not to share an intimate image which has been sent to him. It's very easy for those of us who sit outside the target demographic to judge this film to be affecting and effective, but that wouldn't mean anything if those at whom it's aimed were unmoved by it. It's pleasing to report than that this film has had an enormous impact in the Netherlands. 'Piece of Me' reached number three in the Dutch charts; and has been streamed nearly 7 million times. Even more impressively, Branderhorst's film has been viewed more than 30 million times. Schools have been showing the film to students to illustrate the great harm of sharing images without permission, an idea expressed with heartbreaking impact by 'Piece of Me'
Arguably, the film's greatest achievement is its contribution to the debate surrounding the criminalisation of sharing images without permission. A current proposal to amend the Dutch Sexual Crimes Act to make it an offence to do so has been bolstered hugely by the publicity surrounding this film. It's fair to say that the advertising industry is attracted to projects which appear to do good without always collecting the receipts afterwards to find out whether or not they actually made a difference... indeed, some cynics might suggest that often the real purpose is to collect awards from impressionable juries. It's therefore extremely gratifying to know that a film like this has had a very significant real-world impact, and shifted the debate in a meaningful way. That's what really matters, and everyone involved in this project should be hugely proud of themselves.
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