War correspondent András Földes rushes down a narrow corridor with his camera. But instead of a war zone, he enters Hungary’s largest independent newspaper, Index.hu’s newsroom, his workplace. He’s not there to report on any physical conflict. He’s there to witness a different kind of war: a battle between a free press and an autocratic government. For twenty years, the news site had been András’ life. Now it’s on the verge of being taken over by Hungary’s autocratic Orbán government.

‘Sometimes I think it wasn’t the freedom in our reporting that bothered those in power’, András says, ‘but the fact that our community was so united.’ That unity is on full display when – in an unprecedented move – 80 journalists walk out, leaving the newsroom empty. The journalists refuse to back down and decide to create a new online newspaper, Telex.hu. They are led by fearless and inspirational Vera Munk, who becomes the editor-in-chief. ‘Our job now is to make a terribly good newspaper. One that’s impossible to ignore’, Vera says. But they face enormous challenges: they must build a new platform from scratch, find new sources of funding, and navigate an increasingly hostile environment.

Denis Mukwege, a Congolese doctor, pastor and future Nobel Peace Prize laureate, meets Guy Cadière, a Belgian surgeon and atheist. Despite their differences, they unite for a common purpose: to restore the bodies and dignity of thousands of women who have been used as weapons of war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, the men work from a secure compound in a spirit of pure resilience. Mukwege and Cadière – brilliantly played by Isaach de Bankolé and Vincent Macaigne – treat women with chilling histories and broken spirits due to often atrocious sexual violence. As many of them are ostracised from their communities, the women find a temporary home in Panzi Hospital. Director Marie-Hélène Roux depicts this medical microcosm ‘with absolute clarity, warmth and adequate authenticity’, writes Cineuropa.org.

‘To her parents, she was a child’, says the AI generated voice-over which narrates Molly vs The Machines. ‘But to me, she was a user.’ At just 14 years old, Molly Russell returned home from drama class, finished her homework, watched television with her family and said goodnight. A few hours later, she took her own life. After her death, her parents found out Molly was bombarded with content about suicide and self-harm on Instagram. Alone in her room with her smartphone, Molly was losing herself in the idea that she was worthless, that it would be better if she was dead – echoing the content she was watching. As her father Ian Russell says: ‘I have no doubt that Instagram helped to kill my daughter.’

Molly vs The Machines follows the trail of two narratives exposing what happened to Molly. One is the story of the evidence presented in a Coroner’s court which illuminates the last months and moments of her life. The other reveals the growth of the social media giants and their surveillance based business model, driven by a desire for unrestrained profit and power. In the words of Ian Russell: ‘Decisions about what is suitable for a 14-year-old to see are being made in Silicon Valley, almost experimentally.’