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Lizzie Velásquez was 17 when someone uploaded a video of her to YouTube without her knowledge. When the Austin native — who suffers from a rare congenital disease — discovered the clip, she also read the thousands of hateful comments below it calling her “THE WORLD’S UGLIEST WOMAN.” Today, she describes the experience as someone “putting their fist through the computer screen and physically punching me over and over and over.” She was devastated. But she fought back with candor, fearlessness, and a microphone. (Watch our new interview with her above.)

Nine years later, the 26-year-old Velásquez has become the face — the beautiful face — of the anti-bullying movement in America. The inspiring new documentary A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velásquez Story, directed by Sara Bordo, follows Velásquez’s journey from a victim of mean-spirited attacks to her current status as a beloved activist and motivational speaker (a watershed moment for Velásquez: a 2013 TED talk that not only went viral, but also united her with first-time director Bordo).

Velásquez told Yahoo Movies that she never discovered who posted the YouTube video in the first place. But when that person found out that Velásquez had flagged it for removal on YouTube, he or she vowed via the streaming site to keep uploading it over and over again.

Velásquez’s reaction today? “I honestly think if there was ever a way for me to get a hold of that guy or that girl, I would definitely want to. And not to be mean or to yell at them. But to give them a hug and shake their hand and look them in the eye and just say, ‘Thank you so much, because you absolutely turned my life around in the best way possible.’”

A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velásquez Story opens nationwide Friday, Sept. 25. Watch the trailer: