Fat Rat Films Original Documentaries

Challenge
These films were about standing up to power — to state violence, to discrimination, to social silencing. Each story gave voice to people pushing back against systems that had failed or harmed them, often in contexts where speaking out came at great personal risk. From exposing police violence to questioning societal norms around sex and masculinity, these topics often come with emotional, political, and personal weight. We needed to approach each subject with genuine curiosity, empathy and care, and build trust with contributors in order to amplify stories that never sensationalised, but always respected the complexity of lived experience.

Approach
We combined documentary and animation, first-person interviews and observational filming, to let each story find its own voice. We paid close attention to the ethics of storytelling, always staying close to the emotional truth of what was shared with us. From the beginning, we considered how these films would be seen, building bespoke distribution strategies to get them in front of the right people.

Watch the documentaries now:

These films are Fat Rat. They capture the values we return to, again and again: human rights, civil liberties, and the pursuit of fairness. 

Men Buy Sex reached over half a million people and sparked new conversations about power and consent, earning major awards despite challenging mainstream narratives. Act of Terror went viral within 24 hours and later found its way into police training rooms. The Business of Death gave a raw, human face to grief during COVID and aired on Channel 4 News.

Others, like Your Country Needs Youth and I Predict a Riot, held power to account and brought under-told stories into the public eye. Together, they’ve been watched by millions, picked up by global media, and shared in classrooms, festivals, and frontline organisations.

But more than the numbers, these films are our compass, reminding us why storytelling matters. They’ve opened a window onto realities many people rarely see. They’ve challenged, unsettled, comforted and connected. And they continue to push us to do better, tell braver stories, and stand by what we believe.