Stillwater: does new Matt Damon film exploit Amanda Knox?

New film follows story of female college student who’s imprisoned abroad for crime she says she didn’t commit

Matt Damon at the Stillwater premiere
Matt Damon at the Stillwater premiere in New York
(Image credit: Michael Loccisano/WireImage)

Stillwater, the new Matt Damon film out in cinemas later this week, follows the story of a female college student who is imprisoned abroad for a violent crime she says she didn’t commit.

The fictional woman may be called Allison and be sent to prison in France, not Italy, but there are clear parallels between the film’s plot and the real-life events that surrounded Amanda Knox’s wrongful conviction following the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2007.

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Kate Samuelson is the newsletter editor, global. She is also a regular guest on award-winning podcast The Week Unwrapped, where she often brings stories with a women’s rights angle. Kate’s career as a journalist began on the MailOnline graduate training scheme, which involved stints as a reporter at the South West News Service’s office in Cambridge and the Liverpool Echo. She moved from MailOnline to Time magazine’s satellite office in London, where she covered current affairs and culture for both the print mag and website. Before joining The Week, Kate worked as the senior stories and content gathering specialist at the global women’s charity ActionAid UK, where she led the planning and delivery of all content gathering trips, from Bangladesh to Brazil. She is passionate about women’s rights and using her skills as a journalist to highlight underrepresented communities.

Alongside her staff roles, Kate has written for various magazines and newspapers including Stylist, Metro.co.uk, The Guardian and the i news site. She is also the founder and editor of Cheapskate London, an award-winning weekly newsletter that curates the best free events with the aim of making the capital more accessible.