Little Girls

Directed by Pauline Beugnies

The Dutroux Affair, a notorious child kidnapping and sexual abuse case that struck Belgium in the 1990s, created such a media circus that it distorted an entire nation's collective identity and memory. The generation of children shaped by its sordidly sensational and pervasive coverage are now adults looking to redress their fears, confusion and mistrust. Using shaky VHS tapes from the time coupled with voiceover, these voices of a generation confront their experiences of the crimes as "a threat that invades your body." Their private recollections focus on the effects of hearing graphic descriptions of rape and pedophilia at such a young age that it led to the normalization and development of sexuality informed by sexual abuse.