Consent

Elite, private school Burlingdales was single-sex for many years but it has recently admitted female students to its Sixth Form. Archie (Tom Victor) is the embodiment of the school—rich, privileged and academically a high achiever. The rules of Archie’s social media and online existence are set by a ‘lad’ culture, which he feels he doesn’t really belong to. Porn culture governs how Dales’ boys describe encounters with girls even though most have never even had sex yet. Natalie (Lashay Anderson)—Black, working class, clever—has won herself a scholarship to attend the school. Natalie’s the outsider that Archie feels himself in part to be. They instantly bond.

However, one night at Archie’s birthday party, it all comes to a head. Boundaries are crossed, trust is broken, and nothing will ever be the same between them. But how will the school deal with an accusation Natalie makes against ‘one of their own’?

Inspired by hundreds of real-life testimonies of young people’s school experiences, Consent captures what it feels like for young people to be in an environment where sexual expectations are distorted by instant access to porn and where the lines of consent are minimised.

Written by Emma Dennis-Edwards, directed by Nadira Amrani (Extraordinary) and executive produced by BAFTA–winner Aysha Rafaele (The Left Behind, Murdered by my Father), Consent is a bold and provocative RTS and Broadcast nominated single film for Channel 4.

★★★★★ — The Evening Standard
★★★★ — GUARDIAN