Documentary film recounts 'troll storm' against Whitefish family

An award-nominated documentary about a Whitefish resident who, with support from the community, fought back against hatred, will make its world premiere in Missoula later this month.

Filmmaker Eunice Lau's debut documentary was about a Muslim family impacted by Islamophobia in Minnesota and the impact of injustice. After it aired on PBS, Lau was contacted about a neo-Nazi led troll storm against a Whitefish family.

She saw how the theme of her first film was connected to the Jewish family affected by antisemitism in Montana and made the documentary, “Troll Storm.” The film will premiere at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival at the Wilma Theatre in Missoula on Feb. 24.

The documentary tells the story of Tanya Gersh, Whitefish resident, Realtor and soccer mom, and how her life was shaken when neo-Nazis unleashed a so-called troll storm against her and her family. The filmmakers define troll storm as a style of online attacks including harassing emails, calls and online posts. The term was coined by white nationalists.

“It was, in a way … a continuation of the [first] story that I made … looking at some of the phenomena in America today … the rise in extremism,” Lau said. “Really, it's also a story of how the community of Whitefish rallied around Tanya and her family. I thought that was amazing. It was beautiful.”

In 2016, Gersh became the target of an antisemitic campaign led by The Daily Stormer publisher Andrew Anglin.

According to previous reporting by the Associated Press, Anglin published a series of posts in which he accused Gersh of trying to drive the mother of white nationalist Richard Spencer out of Whitefish. He published the phone numbers, email addresses and social media profiles of Gersh, her husband and son and wrote, “Are y’all ready for an old fashioned troll storm?”

Overnight, Gersh said she received an avalanche of death threats.

“My first instinct was anger … that was motivated by the sense of injustice and what happened to her,” Lau said. 

Rather than focus entirely on the negative aspects of the story, Lau wanted to show the positive side, including the supportive response from the community, mayor and governor.

Gersh finds solidarity with her community by standing up, fighting back and ultimately filing a landmark case for the First Amendment. She sued Anglin in 2017, and two years later he was ordered to pay more than $14 million in damages to Gersh.

“I think that Tanya's story itself, it’s inspirational, not just because she is an ordinary mom who fought back against people who did her wrong, which is incredibly courageous, but it’s also a celebration not of just one individual but also a community,” Lau shared.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR Stephen Jacobs shares his personal story in the film. Lau said his perspective adds significance to Gersh’s fight. 

“History is not simply the study of the past, but also an explanation of the present, and can serve as a forecast to trending events,” Lau wrote. “The parallels between 1930s Germany and present-day America are alarmingly similar and equally terrifying.”

Lau said she found it inspirational that Jacobs used the word “resistance” rather than “fighting.” 

“It's a form of resistance when we stand up and speak up and become this united movement against hate,” Lau said. “In times like this, it's uplifting to know that we can actually do something that makes a difference.“

Lau said she finds motivation in telling stories that remind us of the courage of ordinary people and counts the Whitefish community among the ordinary heroes. 

“It is how we resist and stand up and do the right thing that matters,” said Lau. “I just wanted to share that with the rest of the world – that they can be as courageous as the Whitefish community.”

“Troll Storm” documentary

Delphin films' world premiere of "Troll Storm," a gripping feature documentary about Tanya Gersh who fought against neo-Nazi trolls by filing a landmark case for the First Amendment, will screen at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival on Feb. 24, 3.30 p.m. at The Wilma in Missoula,

Montana. The documentary is nominated for “Best Documentary Feature” at the Oscar-qualifying event.

In the heart Whitefish, a seemingly idyllic ski town, the life of a successful realtor and devoted soccer mom is turned upside down when a group of Neo-Nazis launches a relentless and malicious "troll storm" against her and her family.

Locals in the film include Ina Albert, local human rights activist, and Samantha Francine, an African American Whitefish resident who stood up to verbal attacks during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in front of City Hall.

    A still shot from the documentary film "Troll Storm." (Photo courtesy Delphin Films)