Gaming has had a tumultuous 12 months, and the very heart of many debates is how women are welcomed and treated in the space.

To take a deeper look at this issue, Mashable's online and IRL film screening series MashFlix will feature GTFO, a documentary that focuses on how women have been treated in gaming. The interview-driven documentary was funded on Kickstarter, then debuted at SXSW earlier this year.

We'll be spending the next few weeks showcasing content and contests surrounding the film, capping it all off with a screening in New York City on the evening of Thursday, August 27th. Following the screening, we'll have film director Shannon Sun-Higginson and a panel to answer questions. You can RSVP by clicking here.

Sun-Higginson sought funding for her documentary in 2012 on Kickstarter, long before movements like Gamergate brought broader media attention to women's sometimes brutal treatment in online spaces. Her documentary focuses both on players themselves, like Grace "Gtz", the creator of Fat, Ugly or Slutty — a website that chronicles the gross, dehumanizing message women receive while playing games online. She also speaks to those making games, like game designer Brenda Romero and writers Jennifer Hepler and Rhianna Pratchett, and members of the media like Maddie Myers and Leigh Alexander.

There are interviews with female professional gamers, like StarCraft II players Flo Yau and Julia "Ailuj" Childress, as well as fighting game player Miranda “Super__Yan” Pakozdi, whose harassment and ridicule by a teammate during a livestreamed event is a focal point of the film.

Sun-Higginson answered some of our questions about the movie and its reception.

What was the first thing that triggered the idea for GTFO? I was first introduced to the concept by a good friend of mine, who sent me a video of a young woman being harassed during a gaming tournament. I was shocked, and started shooting the first few interviews that weekend. At first I had no idea that my little clips would eventually add up to a feature documentary, I just wanted this story to be told.

Then as the production moved forward, I quickly realized that there is so much more to women's experiences than harassment, so I broadened out the topic of the film to include the great work that women are doing in the industry, as well as solutions to obstacles that women may encounter.

Who do you hope views the film? I don't expect trolls or harassers to be interested in watching the film (although I wish they would because I'd be curious to see their response). Rather, I want to focus on three other primary groups. I want people involved in gaming to watch GTFO to have the chance to look at their culture in a different light and start thinking about ways they can improve the environment for women and other marginalized groups.

I want women in games and other male-dominated industries to watch the movie to know that they're not alone in their experiences. And I want non-gamers and other outsiders like myself to watch the film to gain an understanding of what is happening in gaming right now and how it might relate to other areas of our lives.

How has reception been so far? The overall response has been positive. A lot of audience members relate the movie to their own personal experiences - I've spoken with members of the military, women in the sciences, younger viewers, the parents of gamers and many more. Everyone has a different takeaway from the film, but relates it to their own experiences in some way. Of course not everybody is going to be happy with the movie - some viewers may feel that their experiences weren't represented, or that the film doesn't take a harsh enough view of harassers, or that it's too harsh. The film has also been review bombed by trolls, which is to be expected.

Ultimately, we took the real life experiences of passionate people and found recurring themes and ideas, and used those to shape the narrative of the film. As a filmmaker, I tried to take a step back and stay as true as possible to what these women and men were sharing in their interviews, rather than including my own narrative voice. So while there are definitely valid criticisms that could be made, there's no real argument against somebody's authentic experience, and I stand by that.

Catch the trailer below: