Shannon Owen
Chances have it that you know a survivor of childhood sexual assault.
A colleague, a friend, even a family member. But the odds are you probably won’t realise it. It is the part of their life story that will be kept hidden from view - a dark secret, a social taboo, unseen and unsaid, often remaining hidden at the expense of their own physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.
Enter Left Write Hook, an experimental eight-week recovery program combining the physical release of boxing with the emotional outlet of creative writing. The goal is to provide survivors of sexual abuse with a unique space to both physically and verbally tap into repressed memories and the associated impacts of trauma, allowing them to begin reclaiming their bodies and minds, and imagine new lives for themselves.
The program is led by boxing instructor and trauma survivor Donna Lyon. She is the driving force that gives her fellow participants the courage and support to release a Pandora's box of emotions.
FILM DETAILS
Title: Left Write Hook
Genres: Sports and Human Interest
Languages: English
Year of production: 2024
Country of production: Australia
Director: Shannon Owen
As a graduate, my early work deepened my understanding of women’s lived experiences and trauma. Supporting clients with dissociative identity disorder following childhood sexual abuse was profoundly moving, though difficult to reconcile. Years later, when Donna Lyon told me about her writing and boxing workshop for CSA survivors, I was immediately intrigued. It resonated with my background as a support worker and martial artist, where I valued physical and spiritual empowerment. Collaborating with Donna, I sought to challenge stereotypes, foreground survivor agency, and develop a trauma-informed framework that honored participants’ voices while exploring healing through creativity and community.
Producer: Gal Greenspan and Rachel Forbes, MOFA
VISUAL FEEL
Festivals
International Premiere: MIFF - Audience Award