''Look Away'' is a 2021 British

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about the sexual abuse of young girls in the rock music industry. The film was directed by Sophie Cunningham and Ben Steele, and produced by

Sky Documentaries Sky Documentaries is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast, which launched on 27 May 2020. Sky Documentaries broadcasts imported programming from HBO alongside new original and other acquired program ...

. The film's title is derived a track of the same name on

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

's 1996 album '' Naughty Little Doggie'', which is a "tribute" to one of the most famous "baby groupies" on

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California, United States. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western bord ...

in the 1970s,

Sable Starr Sabel Hay Shields (August 15, 1957 – April 18, 2009), better known as Sable Starr, was an American groupie, often described as the "queen of the groupie scene" in Los Angeles during the early 1970s. She claimed during an interview published in ...

. The track of the same name mentions in its lyrics that Pop slept with Starr when she was 13, with none of the reviews of the album addressing the lyrics. ''Look Away'' is built around extensive interviews with Kari Krome,

the Runaways The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Holl ...

' bass guitarist Jackie Fuchs, and Julia Holcomb. The documentary describes several rapes and other sexual abuse, including a detailed account of the alleged rape of Jackie Fuchs by her band's then-manager

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed the Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

. It also tells the story of the inappropriate relationship between Julia Holcomb and

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, h ...

as well as the alleged sexual assault of former Penthouse Pet, model, and actress

Sheila Kennedy Sheila Kennedy (born April 12, 1962) is an erotic model and actress who was the December 1981 Penthouse Pet of the Month and the 1983 Pet of the Year. Career Kennedy moved into the Penthouse Mansion in New York at the age of 18. She lived the ...

at the hands of

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

frontman

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose ( ; born William Bruce Rose Jr., February 6, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in ...

, and offers interviews of other people with experiences of sexual abuse in the United States rock scene in the 70s and 80s. According to Cunningham, the purpose of the film "is not necessarily about seeking justice in the legal sense, but having a voice – and trying to instigate change. Although we are focusing on a certain era in this film, the music industry is still functioning in a very, very similar way."

Reception

'' Uncut'' rated the film three and a half stars out of five, while ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' rated it four stars out of five. The film was nominated for Broadcast Digital Award for Best Documentary Programme, and the director Sophie Cunningham was nominated in the Best Emerging Talent category in BAFTA Craft Awards 2022 for the film. After the film was nominated by BAFTA, it was discussed on Instagram by

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, Love has had a career spanning four decades. She rose to promi ...

, where she supported some of the claims made, commenting that Steven Tyler also adopted another 13-year-old girl in a similar fashion.

References

{{reflist

External links

''Look Away''
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

2021 films 2021 documentary films British documentary films Films about sexual abuse Documentary films about rape