Brittany Higgins documentary to be screened at Sydney Film Festival after being stalled by 'legal dramas'

By CAITLIN POWELL - NEWS REPORTER Published: 03:08, 22 April 2026 | Updated: 03:12, 22 April 2026 A documentary featuring interviews with Brittany Higgins and Amber Heard will be screened at an Australian film festival after several 'legal dramas'. 'Silenced', explores how defamation laws can be used to stop victims from speaking publicly about their abuse, and premiered at Sundance Film Festival in February.  The film follows acclaimed barrister Jennifer Robinson, who represented actor Amber Heard during Johnny Depp's defamation suit against her over allegations of abuse. Ms Higgins appears as a case study. Sydney Film Festival announced the film would feature on opening night, June 3, and called it 'the most important Australian film of the year'. The saga unfolded after Liberal senator Sarah Henderson called for the Silenced script be presented during a Senate Estimates hearing on February 10. She questioned how much the ABC had vetted the documentary after the broadcaster contributed $340,000 to its funding, about 14 per cent of the total production cost.  'Absolutely thrilled Silenced is finally coming to Australian audiences after so much legal drama,' acclaimed barrister Jennifer Robinson, who wrote the original book Silenced Women, wrote on social media following the news.  'It is outrageous that our (film) script was sought using Senate Estimates procedures. The documentary Silenced has been selected to open an Australian film festival in June (pictured, barrister Jennifer Robinson on the film poster) The film, which explores how defamation laws can be used to stop victims from speaking publicly about their abuse, includes interviews with Brittany Higgins 'Senate Estimates is not the defamation police - will Senators start demanding pre-publication scripts of ABC investigative reports next? Absolutely terrible precedent to start demanding copies of Australian film scripts before broadcast.' During the hearing, Henderson raised concerns about the documentary’s claim that women featured in the film, including former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, were being silenced by defamation laws. 'You would, no doubt, be aware that two Australian courts have found that Ms Higgins was not silenced and, in fact, made dishonest claims in asserting that the former Western Australian senator Linda Reynolds and (her chief of staff) Fiona Brown improperly covered up a rape in Parliament House,' the Liberal senator said.  'Two courts have now found that that was completely untrue, and, of course, there were defamation proceedings which followed - and, in one case, ruled, obviously, very much in favour of Ms Reynolds.' Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young interjected several times, calling Henderson 'disgusting' and 'pretty low' for 'going after a rape victim'. Henderson refuted that and claimed several times that the documentary mentioned Reynolds and the civil case.  An advanced copy of Silenced, seen by the Australian Financial Review (AFR), did not specifically mention the defamation case Reynolds brought against Ms Higgins, or Ms Higgins' bankruptcy following a costs order. ABC's managing director Hugh Marks also stated firmly that the broadcaster would make reasonable editorial reviews of the program before airing it. But it faced 'legal dramas' in February when Liberal senator Sarah Henderson (pictured) called for the script to be presented during a Senate Estimates hearing Marks said the broadcaster would 'ensure that it meets all standards and does not fall foul of the areas that (Henderson was) suggesting it has the potential to fall foul of'.  Screen Australia, which provided $250,000 of taxpayer funds towards the documentary, reportedly does not have a script for the film.  Henderson was also criticised by Labor Senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah, who said demanding the script 'would have the effect of silencing artists'.  Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz were bankrupted by Reynolds following Federal Court proceedings last year, after the former Liberal senator successfully argued the couple had defamed her on social media. Ms Higgins was ordered to pay about $340,000 in damages and interest to Reynolds, plus 80 per cent of her legal costs, estimated at more than $1million. Sharaz owed about $750,000 in legal costs. It is understood lawyers for Reynolds had sent a letter to Sydney-based production company behind the documentary, Stranger Than Fiction Films, in January.  She reportedly warned against repeating allegations.  Ms Robinson shared the AFR's coverage of the letter on her social media while promoting the film, saying: 'The legal dramas we have already faced with Silenced'.  The film is based on a book by barrister Jennifer Robinson, who represented actor Amber Heard (pictured) during Johnny Depp's defamation suit against her Bruce Lehrmann's lawyer Zali Burrows also sent a concerns notice to the producers, requesting a copy of the film, a transcript, and a takedown of all promotional material in February. In the notice, seen by NewsWire, Ms Burrows said the notice was to 'preserve Lehrmann's right to a fair trial'. She also alleges the film 'prejudices the jury pool' in relation to separate criminal proceedings in Queensland. Lehrmann is facing two charges of rape over an alleged incident in Toowoomba in October 2021. He denies both of the charges. The former Liberal staffer lost his defamation case last April when Federal Court Justice Michael Lee ruled on a balance of probabilities that he had raped Ms Higgins, his former colleague, in Parliament House in 2019. Ms Burrows claimed in a lengthy statement that the documentary could be interpreted as an 'accurate, nonfiction and true report of matters by viewers'. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.