Left Write Hook: Canberra film screening and Q&A

Name: Left Write Hook: Canberra film screening and Q&A
Start: 2026-11-24T18:00:00+1100
End: 2026-11-24T20:30:00+1100
Location: Majura Theatre

Tue, 24 Nov, 6pm - 8:30pm AEDT

Majura Theatre

Canberra Airport ACT, Australia

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Left Write Hook

143 followers · Contact host

Description

Join us on Tuesday 24 November for a special Q&A screening of the multi-award-winning Australian documentary Left Write Hook, presented in partnership with Canberra Rape Crisis Centre (CRCC) and The Snow Foundation.

The powerful film follows survivors of childhood sexual abuse as they take part in a unique recovery program combining trauma-aware creative writing and non-contact boxing.

After the screening, stay for a live panel discussion with filmmakers, film participants and past participants of the Left Write Hook program.

Taking place on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the screening marks the beginning of the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. Come together with us to centre survivor voices and create space for conversations about recovery, resilience and change.

What you’ll experience at this event

A screening of the multi-award-winning documentary Left Write Hook
A live post-screening Q&A
The opportunity to hear directly from filmmakers, film participants and past program participants
A conversation about survivor-led approaches to recovery, resilience and connection
An opportunity to come together as a community as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence

About the film

Left Write Hook follows a group of survivors participating in a unique recovery program that combines trauma-aware creative writing with non-contact boxing.

Created by survivors, the program supports participants to reconnect with their bodies, reclaim their voices and rebuild strength, confidence and community.

The documentary has received national recognition including Best Feature Documentary at the Australian International Documentary Conference and the Audience Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Through deeply personal stories, the film offers a powerful and hopeful exploration of survivor-led healing.

Meet the panel

Following the screening, audiences are invited to stay for a live Q&A conversation with guest speakers.

Panel members may include filmmakers, film participants and past program participants. Speakers will be announced in the lead up to the event.

Presented in partnership with

Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity

Host information

Left Write Hook

143 followers

Contact host

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Left Write Hook is a research informed 8-week boxing and writing workshop for adult survivors of child sexual abuse and trauma. The program is designed to empower survivors to take back their power through the physical and creative expressive processes of boxing and writing.

The program was founded by Donna Lyon, PhD, in 2019 at her local boxing gym, FitLife, in Ferntree Gully, Melbourne, Victoria, borne out of her lived experience as a survivor and a fighter.

In 2020, Lyon took the program to the University of Melbourne, whereby she teamed up with a group of interdisciplinary researchers to measure the efficacy of the program. The results demonstrated that the Left Write Hook reduced symptoms of PTSD, depression, stress, and anxiety, while increasing personal agency, resilience, and a sense of belonging. This research brought together a psychologist, gender expert, filmmaker & survivor, with the intention of studying the effects of the program, making a documentary film and producing a book.

Due to COVID, the face-to-face workshops that began in the gym shifted online. Across 2020, Lyon facilitated three workshops, organised by eight-week rounds. She pitched the idea of co-curating a book of the writings generated from the workshops to the group of participants and in 2021, Loving Healing Press, USA came on board as the publisher. Read more about the book.

Donna Lyon and filmmaker/researcher Shannon Owen then turned their attention to the documentary, which has become a model for participatory filmmaking collaboration between the filmmaking team and the project participant/collaborators. The film attracted development funding from VicScreen and secured a production company partnership with Sweetshop & Green to help develop and take the film to market. Through this collaboration, the team received production funding from Screen Australia, VicScreen, University of Melbourne, Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund, and distribution from Bonsai Films. Find out more about the documentary.

In 2022, Donna Lyon set up Left Write Hook as a not-for-profit company so that she could begin to run more workshops for survivors.

Get Tickets

Tue, 24 Nov, 6pm - 8:30pm AEDT

Majura Theatre

Canberra Airport ACT, Australia

Hosted by Left Write Hook