Nellie Bly Makes the News

Nellie Bly Makes the News presents the story of Nellie Bly, a muckraking investigative journalist who changed the game for women in reporting before women even had the right to vote. This animated documentary draws from extensive primary sources, including Bly's own writing, and presents both real-world interviewees and re-enactments in several styles of animation and illustration.

Dissatisfied with the role in which Victorian society placed her, Bly grabbed an editor's attention with her spirited response to an article chastising women for going job hunting. This opened the door to becoming a proper reporter, but even then, she was relegated to writing fluff pieces about society and fashion. She sought the opportunity to do more and made waves after infiltrating an asylum by going undercover as a patient and reporting on the ongoing abuses inside.

This short film investigates the porous line between reporting facts and telling stories, while creating a dynamic portrait of a woman who refused to accept the status quo.