WomenCinemakers vol V WomenCinemakers vol V | Page 35

A moody film that delicately weaves personal
pain and public anguish, Skinhearts explores a
world where the sexual act has become an irre ve
rent act of rebellion. An emotio nally complex
portrait of human aliena tion, Sally Fenaux
Barley corn's film raises disturbing que stions,
reveal
ing
a
psychological
penetrating
exploration of love and freedom reminding us of
Yorgos Lanthimos's early work. We are proud to
present Sally Fenaux Barleycorn for this year's
WomenCinemakers Edition. Sally, tell us about
your trajectory as a filmmaker. What inspired
you to express yourself in this medium?
I’ve always been really curious about everything that is
visual. At the age I was suppose to be finishing high
school and then attending college, I was jumping from
one discipline to another, doing short and non formal
education on photography, dance, theatre, video and
graphic design.
I started working in the film industry and commercial
shoots in 2008 by chance. But when I think back, I can
see how all my different experiences were actually a
great preparation for the “Total Art” that cinema is. That
is one of the things that inspires me the most about this
medium and also, the high level of collaboration.
Which means that you are constantly sharing
influences and being affected by your collaborator’s
ideas, life experiences and own influences. Working
profes sionally in feature film and commercial
productions has given me the training, since I didn’t
attend film school and also the humility. I know first
hand how hard it is to make things happen in this
industry, how hard the people involved usually work
and to respect that and prepare myself to meet their
needs, don’t waste anyone’s time and achieve a piece
of work worth their efforts, dedication and mine.
But it isn’t until a couple of years ago that I started to
feel that I wanted to direct. While I was still working in
the costume department, I had an accident on set that
obliged me to take a break. I had the time to think
Interview•by•Dora Tennant
cinemakers // 11