EMPATHY NOT INCLUDED

The Narcissist’s Playbook

Empathy Not Included is a feature-length documentary exploring one of the most pervasive and often misunderstood mental pathologies in our culture: Narcissism.

Shot in seven countries and viewed through the lens of four self-confessed, self-aware malignant narcissists who openly share the secrets of how they operate with uncensored candor, the film follows their disturbing stories, juxtaposed with the growing body of wisdom from victims, survivors, scientists, and mental health professionals.

While the term narcissist is thrown around freely and the issue seems to be everywhere in the cultural conversation due to the overwhelming omnipresence of social media -- most are unaware of the narcissist’s shared “playbook” and how pervasive their abuse can be – from the most intimate relationships to the actions of global leaders. It’s all abuse, it’s just a question of scale.

By exposing these patterns of behavior directly from the mouths of the narcissists themselves, the film sets out to educate its audience to become aware of their manipulations and, by understanding their moves, protect themselves from falling for their self-serving lies and abuse.

STATUS: POST-Production

Release: 2025

Behind the Scenes

Why this Film?

In 2017, I discovered that the leader of an organization I had been part of for some 12 years was likely a malignant narcissist and was doing truly evil things to many of my friends. This came as an enormous shock as I had considered the leader, Keith Raniere, a mentor in ethics, scientific thinking, and humanitarian endeavors. I realized I had been in a cult for over a decade, and Raniere was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The organization, NXIVM was being used by Raniere as a front for deeply immoral and illegal activities. During the next few years, as my friends and I did everything in our power to bring him and his co-conspirators to justice, I began to ask many questions. How did I fall for it? How did I not see it? How was he able to infiltrate my deepest yearnings and have me believe he and I were aligned in our mission?

The leader, Keith Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking. Bit by bit, my friends and I began to get our lives back and heal our hearts and minds from years of coercive control and manipulation. In my journey of healing, it became my passion to understand the pathologies of leaders like this. It led me to the study of Narcissism and Narcissistic Abuse. I began to realize that the same patterns of narcissistic abuse present in abusive relationships are mirrored identically in certain families, groups, religions, corporations, and political parties.

“Empathy not Included” exposes the epidemic of narcissism fast becoming the accepted default in our world. It is my belief that all the symptoms we are trying to address in the world cannot be truly solved until we understand who is causing it. Many of our world issues can all be traced back to individuals without conscience or empathy. We must take off our Pollyanna, rose-colored glasses and recognize that these people do exist and many of them are running the show.

I have the great fortune of working with talented producers and crew members who have intimate experiences of narcissistic abuse at the hands of individuals like this. This film is the step-by-step playbook many of us wish we had received many years ago before the profound betrayal, pain, and resulting confusion. It is a message to future people to help them see the pattern. Because, once you see it, you cannot unsee it and so much of what had been going on in our lives and the world at large, begins to make sense. Then, we can become so much more effective in our individual missions.

~ Mark Vicente - NXIVM Whistleblower

(featured in the multi-season HBO series “THE VOW”)

Meet the Filmmakers

  • Mark Vicente

    DIRECTOR

  • Scott Altomare

    PRODUCER

  • Lyn Davis Lear

    PRODUCER

  • Chris Bradley

    EXEC-PROD/EDITOR