Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire
On Show 2020
Conor McCluskey

The age of social media has had a transformative effect on us all and the way we interact with the world, however not all of these changes have been positive. Social media has brought people closer together but it has also brought us closer to those wishing to spread images of violence and hate. This problem has created a new job; content moderator. These are the people that remove this content before you, the user, can see it.

Disturbing Imagery is a short film about the world of content moderating. The story follows Abigail, a moderator working for one of these companies, who discovers that her co-worker may be behind one of the brutal videos she has to filter each and every day. It is also about the psychological effect of constantly watching violent, disturbing content, and how it can erode away at your wellbeing. Disturbing Imagery is a thriller, it’s a film that aims to use the tools of suspense and the revelations of new discoveries to tell its story.

This film was written and directed by Conor McCluskey and produced by Martha Lovett Cullen.